The Ties That Bind
by Fire and Ash
Summary: Alex Hale was ten years old when her house went up in flames and her family burned alive. Now here she is, six years later, heading back to the place where it all began; Beacon Hills, California with her brother Derek by her side. She will embark on a journey of betrayal, revenge, friendship, love and will enter in a fight for her life and the lives of her family and friends.
1. Prologue

**_"The pain of loss is never fleeting, it's eternal."_**

 ** _\- Unknown_**

* * *

 **** ** _Beacon Hills, California._**

 ** _January, 2005._**

Alexandria hopped up and down beside her older siblings, eyes locked on her brother as they made the long trek through the woods towards their house. Derek snorted in amusement at his baby sister's excitement, winking mockingly at her.

"Come on Derek!" Alexandria pleaded, skipping alongside her older brother and sister. "You have to tell me."

"Oh really?" Derek smirked and caught her in a headlock. "Why should I?"

"Because I'm your baby sister and you love me?" she grinned, her warm brown eyes meeting his hazel-green ones.

"Derek, Alex, would you two just behave?" Laura sighed in exasperation as she turned to glare at them. Derek smiled sheepishly at his eldest sister before he released Alex and ruffled her hair.

"Why would we want to behave?" Alex jumped on Laura's back, winding her arms around her neck. Laura stumbled slightly at the impact before setting her hands under Alex's thighs to hold her up.

"I don't know how mom deals with you two," Laura told them, her frustration at her childish siblings shining through. "You're nightmares."

Alex let out a stream of high pitched giggles at her sister's insult. Derek fought to smother a grin as Laura rolled her eyes and began spinning around. Alex clung on tightly, the world blurring before her eyes as she slowly became dizzy.

"Laura! Stop!" she shrieked with laughter.

Laura did stop, but not because she had been ordered to, she pried Alex off of her and set her ten year old sister back on the ground. Alex shared a worried look with Derek as Laura started sniffing the air, her eyes shifting between bright yellow and deep brown.

"What is it?" Derek asked, grasping Laura's arm.

"Something's wrong," Laura answered quickly and tugged her arm free.

"What d'you mean?"

"Something's burning," Alex input, brows furrowing as she looked around. The three Hale siblings gasped in unison as clouds of dark grey and black smoke rose up into the sky, followed by the crackling of flames.

"Come on!" Laura grabbed her sister's hand, who in turn latched onto Derek, dragging him along as they darted through the trees.

Alex felt trepidation well in the pit of her stomach and rise up into her throat as they got closer to the flames. They burst through the trees, and nothing could have prepared them for the sight before them.

The once magnificent Hale House was burning away, the white building turning black and caving in on itself. The front half of the roof that covered the porch had already collapsed and the walls seemed minutes from following suit. Numerous amounts of firemen desperately tried to get the flames under control, to put them out before they did any more damage, but to no avail.

Alex let out an ear piercing scream, the sight of her childhood home fading away was too much for her and she lurched forward, running towards the house. Laura and Derek were completely silent, shock and fear holding them to the spot. Derek felt tears spring to his eyes as he finally moved forward, chasing after his younger sibling.

"Stop her!" Alex paid no attention to the cop that shouted and continued towards the house. A pair of large arms locked around her body, jerking her backwards.

"Let go of me!" she howled, arm outstretched in front of her.

"Hey, hey," a soothing voice said in her ear and she glanced over her shoulder to find Sheriff Stilinski holding her to his chest, preventing her from moving. "I can't let you go any closer."

"M-my house," she sobbed, tearing her eyes away from the Sheriff. "What ha-happened?"

"We don't know yet," he answered, half dragging, half carrying her towards her siblings, who were both in similar positions.

Alex tugged herself free and huddled into Derek, winding her arms around his waist tightly. Laura yanked her arms away from the cop and embraced her siblings.

"Wh-where are our family?" Laura croaked, turning her watery gaze to Sheriff Stilinski.

"I'm so sorry," he started, a sympathetic look appearing on his face. "They were inside the house when it caught fire."

"No. _No!_ " Derek yelled at them, his grip tightening on Alex. "You're lying!"

Alex buried her face in his chest, her tears staining the fabric of his t-shirt a dark green as she listened to the sounds of her only remaining family members' shouts of disbelief and reluctance to believe that they had nothing left now and Sheriff Stilinski as he tried to console the panicking Hale siblings.

"They're all gone," she squeezed her eyes shut, fingers curling around Derek's t-shirt.

Derek held her closer, pressing his face against her hair and tried to calm his heart rate down by breathing in her floral scent. Tears welled in Laura's eyes as she gazed at the red, orange and yellow flames as they began to die down. A quick glance down at her brother and sister had her making up her mind, she would do everything to protect them, to keep them safe from anything she viewed as a threat.

And as the life she once knew went up in flames, she vowed to keep her remaining pack members close and never let them go.


	2. Chapter 1 - Farewell

_**'The hardest part about leaving is knowing what you're leaving behind.'**_

 _ **\- Drake.**_

* * *

A few weeks later they have the funerals. Eleven separate funerals for eleven different family members. They also buried three empty coffins for their sisters Jessica and Cora and their cousin Heather, who's bodies hadn't been found. Everyone believed it was because there was nothing left of them _to be_ _found_. A lot of people gathered to say their goodbyes and to offer their condolences. Alex paid them no attention, clinging on to her brother and staring blankly as her mom, dad, brothers and sisters and human cousins and uncles and aunts were lowered into the ground, making it all the more real; their family was _gone, dead_ and nothing would bring them back.

Alex and her siblings had been relieved to hear that their Uncle Peter had survived, they were also horrified to learn that he had severe burns and was comatose, unable to talk, eat by himself or even blink. He didn't make it the funeral, but people still dropped by his hospital room, leaving flowers and get well soon cards and giving him their sympathies.

One of the hardest parts was seeing Peter, lying in a hospital bed, attached to a handful of wires and almost completely covered by bandages. He was so still, Alex would've thought him to be dead if she hadn't heard the unsteady beating of his heart beneath the blankets and layers of bandages.

Laura tried her best to remain strong for both Alex and Derek, but the moment she was out of sight, she would allow herself to cry, to mourn. She did this when she thought they wouldn't hear her sobs, but they did, they heard her every time.

Alex was stubborn, pushing everyone away when they tried to get close. She didn't speak much, seeming to prefer the idea of suffering in silence to talking about it and getting emotional when she knew it wouldn't help. Nothing would bring them back.

Derek wasn't much better, he followed Alex's example and shut himself off from the world, speaking to people outside the family only when he had to and sticking close to his sisters, always making sure they were within seeing or hearing distance from him.

"What do we do now?" Alex whispered, running her fingers over the triskele necklace that her mom had given her as she stared at the freshly covered grave that held her parents.

"I have some business to take care of," Laura began, intertwining their hands. She squeezed Alex's fingers and took Derek's wrist in her free hand. "Then we're leaving."

"Where will we go?" Derek asked, looking up to his new alpha as her eyes flashed red.

"There... there's a pack in Brooklyn, New York that mom was close with, they called and said we're welcome to stay in their guest house for a while... at least until we get somewhere of our own."

"What are they like?"

"Madison's the alpha female, she's strong and strict, but she's a good leader and she's kind," Laura answered, remembering the few times she'd met the pack when they stopped by for a visit. "Then there's David, her second in command. He used to be an omega before she rescued him, and now he's her most trusted wolf. Madison's husband, James is the alpha male, he's more gentle than her, surprisingly, but he can be temperamental at times. The youngest two are Hayley and Rosalie, they're twins and are surprisingly mischievous. They're Madison and James' daughters."

Alex and Derek nodded, both turning away from Laura as footsteps met their eyes. Alex spun around, her eyes turning golden yellow as Chris Argent and his wife, Victoria walked towards them, a group of other hunters a few steps behind. She was glad that everyone else had left as her teeth elongated into fangs and she growled at them. Laura kept a secure grip on Alex's hand as her eyes turned red in response to her sister and she growled as well, a deep sense of authority washing over her siblings and they had no choice but to listen to their alpha and stand down, their teeth and eyes returning to normal.

"We just came to offer our sympathies," Chris explained, always the semi-peaceful one as he raised his hands in a placating manner.

Alex glanced up at Laura, seriously wondering if her sister was actually buying what the Argent hunter was telling them, and by the look on Laura's face, she clearly believed him. Alex's chest rumbled as a growl threatened to escape and she directed it at Chris, something he noticed as he looked down at her.

"Thank you," Laura said smoothly, pinching Alex.

"We also heard you were leaving town," Victoria spoke up, hardly even attempting to hide the satisfaction she felt and it showed on her face.

"For a time," Laura offered as a response, her brown eyes narrowing at the red haired hunter. "No promises that we won't come back."

Alex hid a smirk, that sounded more like her quick witted, sarcastic older sister. Said sister noticed Alex's attempt to hide her amusement and pinched her roughly on the back of her neck.

"Farewell, Laura, Derek, Alex." Chris nodded at each of them before escorting his wife back across the grass and disappearing with the other hunters.

"I hate them," Alex snarled, glaring daggers at where they had previously stood, and neither of her siblings argued.

* * *

 _ **Two weeks later**_

Alex stared up at the remains of her old home with wide, sad eyes, her heart beating loudly as sobs worked their way up her throat and threatened to suffocate her. She could hear her brother's footsteps as he ran through the forest, desperation and worry drifting from him in waves.

"Alex?" he called frantically. She tilted her head back and let out a short howl to signal her location to him. He burst through the trees a moment later, storming towards her and drawing her into a tight hug. "Why did you run off again?"

"I couldn't sleep," she answered quietly, hands fisted in the back of his blue t-shirt. "I wanted to see it again... when it _wasn't_ on fire."

"You're lucky it was me that noticed you were gone," he told her with a sigh, resting his forehead against hers and staring into her tear filled brown eyes. "Laura would've been furious if she was awake."

"I know, I-I couldn't help it," she said and nipped at his jaw before heading towards the house. Derek followed as she walked hesitantly up the porch and entered the once mighty Hale house.

Alex's breath caught in her throat, all around her was burnt objects, blackened by the fire and ashy as she ran her fingers over them. As she walked into the living room, glass crunched under her foot and she crouched down, picking up a slightly singed photo, the edges curling inwards. Her family members' happy faces stared back at her, their lips pulled back into wide grins, completely unaware of the disaster that would occur only days later.

"Here." She handed the photo to Derek, who ran his finger over it slowly before sticking it in his pocket and walking after her as she carefully walked up the unstable staircase.

Alex went to her room and Derek headed towards their parents' room, hesitating in the doorway. She watched her brother sadly, offering him a small smile and stepping into her bedroom.

The few posters she had had on her walls were a pile of ash now, resting on the singed, royal purple carpet and the dresser that was missing the top of it and most of her clothes were too damaged to wear, only a few t-shirts and a couple pairs of jeans had made it, along with the jacket she'd taken from her mom as a security blanket of sorts and hidden in her bottom drawer. She was slightly grateful that her room was at the back of the house, that it wasn't as damaged as downstairs but then she felt guilty as her family sprung to mind. Her bed was wrecked, along with her deep grey comforter and her favourite stuffed owl teddy. The medium sized box she kept in her closet had survived, the wooden top the only part with burn marks as she pulled it out and sat on the floor with it.

"What's that?" Derek asked as he came in and sat next to her.

"Photos, my diary and a couple of mementos." She shrugged and opened it, showing him the contents. Derek carefully lifted a handful of pictures out, each one of their family, and the occasional one of her and her friends Scott and Stiles. Her favourite photo was of her, Derek and their uncle Peter when he was younger and Alex was about five and Derek was eleven. She had crawled onto Derek's back, arms around his neck as he and Peter played a game of chess, only looking away from the board when their alpha had called their names.

"I remember that," Derek smiled. "Peter won, as per usual."

"Peter always wins," she chuckled lightly. "He's a chess master."

"That he is," came the familiar voice of their new alpha. They both winced and looked up sheepishly, knowing that they had gone against their alpha's orders. "He's a sneaky wolf, just like you two."

"Sorry, Laura."

Laura's lips twitched in amusement as they spoke in unison before she knelt in front of them and took their hands, linking their fingers together.

"Never do that again," she ordered, looking between them. "I was really worried about you."

"We won't do it again, alpha." Alex tilted her head to the side, baring her neck in submission, her brother following suit.

"That's good to hear," she sighed in relief, ruffling their hair. Laura nipped their necks gently before she carefully lifted a small wolf key chain from the box and smirked slightly. "I remember when dad made this for you, you loved it so much that you refused to part with it, carrying it with you wherever you went."

"Uncle Peter offered me a box of toffee, but only if I would let go of the wolf," Alex recalled. "I wouldn't, and he gave me the toffee anyway. Mom was so mad at him for giving me sweets before dinner."

"He had to steer clear of her for days afterwards," Derek added, and just for a moment, happiness surrounded them, and they momentarily forgot about what had happened. "Aunt Kristen wasn't much better, she thought what Peter did was stupid and that he shouldn't have gone against mom's commands. She always did love following by the rules."

"Uncle Peter always loved pushing mom's buttons, especially when it involved you two. Kris would try and get him to behave, but even _she_ couldn't make it happen." Laura's lips twitched at the side as she fought a smile.

"I miss them," Alex whimpered. She had never been separated from her parents or uncle for so long before and it was clearly taking its toll on her, her hair was tangled and held back in a limp ponytail, lacking its usual shine, her eyes were dull and almost lifeless and her skin was a ghostly white.

"I know honey." Laura sat Indian-style on the floor and held her arms out, encouraging them to come to her. Derek went to her first, curling in against her side and slipping his arms around her waist. Alex followed moments later and sat in Laura's lap, huddling into her new alpha's warmth as Laura wrapped her arms around them both, holding them tightly.

"I miss them too."

* * *

"C-can you wait here?" Alex asked hesitantly, looking up at Laura and Derek. "I wanna say goodbye on my own."

"We'll be right here, Lex," Derek reassured her before Laura could get a word in. "Take your time."

"Thank you," she whispered gratefully, squeezing his large hand. She stepped away from them onto the path and headed towards the house, up the porch steps and knocked lightly on the door.

This was it. Her and her family were leaving Beacon Hills and she now had to say goodbye to the only two people who had willingly been her friends, who had been there and listened when she complained about how suffocated, how controlled she felt by her family. Now she would give anything to go back to those days, to have the rest of her relatives back and to not have to say goodbye to her Scott and her Stiles, because that's what they were, they were her friends and werewolves tended to by surprisingly possessive about what they deemed as theirs. Scott and Stiles just happened to fit into the category of what Alex thought of as hers.

"Oh, hello Alex," Sheriff Stilinski smiled politely at her before waving at her siblings when he noticed them.

"Hi Sheriff," she greeted as she readjusted her long sleeved, blue t-shirt. "Is Scott and Stiles here?"

"Yeah, they're in the living room. Come on in." He stepped back and let her into the house. He glanced at Laura and Derek before jerking his head at the open door and watching as they smiled and hurried into the house as well.

"Scottie?" Alex called as she slowly stepped into the living room only to find it empty. "Stiles?"

"Boo!" a sudden voice said in her ear and she let out a yelp, having not heard either of them approach. "Hah, got you!" Stiles cackled, giving Scott a high five.

"I have something to tell you," Alex said after a few minutes of laughing with them. She dragged them out to the backyard away from any eavesdroppers.

"What is it?" Scott asked nervously, sharing a concerned glance with a usually hyper Stiles.

"Me, Derek and Laura are leaving Beacon Hills," she blurted out quickly and Scott stared at her dumbly for a few minutes, while Stiles began shaking his head frantically. "We're going to New York."

"You... you can't _leave!_ " Stiles protested loudly even as his other best friend remained silent, glancing between him and Alex in surprise. "We were gonna build a tree house and have no girls allowed... except you, obviously. And we were going to go on an adventure and make everyone look for us because it's fun."

"I don't wanna go, Stiles," Alex told him immediately, staring at her best friends. "I don't have a choice, I have to do what Derek and Laura say," she frowned as he huffed, looking away. "I'll come back, and then we can hang out again and it'll be like no time has passed at all. I'll still be the same old Alex. I promise."

"Pinky promise?" Scott asked, breaking his silence finally.

"Double pinky promise." She linked both of her pinkies with his, grinning at him. She released him and turned to Stiles, eyeing him wearily. He eventually linked their fingers together tightly before beaming widely at her, causing her to step backwards. "Puppy pile!" he yelled, tackling Alex and sending them crashing to the ground, Scott jumped on them moments later, knocking the air from their lungs.

"Ah! You're crushing me!" Alex cried and got knocked in the face by Scott's elbow. "Help!"

"Alex?"

"Derek! Help, I'm being crushed by two idiots!" Derek smirked in amusement at his sister's words before he lifted Scott and Stiles to their feet by the backs of their t-shirts and tugging his sister up, picking the grass from her hair.

"Oi, mister," Stiles said suddenly, poking Derek roughly in the shoulder. "You better take good care of our Alex, you hear?"

Derek gave Alex a look as if to say 'is this scrawny little kid for real?' and gained a shrug and a roll of her eyes in response. "I hear you loud and clear, Stilinski," Derek replied with a slightly feral grin.

"Der, Lex," Laura called loudly from the kitchen, her voice travelling to the back yard. "It's time to go."

Alex's lip trembled as she turned to her friends. "I'm gonna miss you two the most."

"You'll come back," Scott reminded her, his features morphing into a look of sadness, one similar to her own. "You promised."

"And I'll be same old Alex," she added, though she was already beginning to doubt her promise. "I would say I love you guys, but that's just lame."

"Totally lame," Scott agreed.

"Such a girl thing to say." Stiles nodded, and the two of them drew her into a final hug.

"Come on, Alex," Derek said softly. He gently pried her from the hug and led her back through the house by her hand, Stiles and Scott rushing after them.

"Bye Sheriff Stilinski." Alex hugged him around the waist, feeling him pat her on the head.

"Call me John," he told her in a mock-stern tone.

"Yes... John."

"Thank you for helping us out the past few weeks, we really appreciate it," Laura told the Sheriff as they walked out onto the porch. She shook his hand gratefully. "We really do."

"It's not a problem. You and your family were here for Stiles when his mom died, I figured it was time I repaid the favour," John answered, his voice dimming slightly at the mention of his deceased wife.

"Thank you."

Laura looked at Derek, jerking her head towards the car, and he nodded, picking Alex up and carrying her struggling form to the back of the car, he set her in the back seat and did her seat belt up before climbing in beside her and locking the door to stop her from climbing out and running back to Scott and Stiles.

Laura rejoined them after saying a final farewell to the Stilinski's and Scott. She started the car quickly and began to drive away when Stiles suddenly ran towards the car, waving something in his hands. The eldest Hale sighed and stopped as Alex unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned out of the open window.

"I wanted to give you this, something to remember us by," Stiles explained, handing her a picture frame with seashells stuck to it. "Scott helped me with the shells because we know you love them."

"I love it," Alex responded, staring at the picture of her and her friends. She met his wide eyes after a long pause. "Bye, Batman."

"Bye Superwoman."

* * *

 _ **Author's note - Woop! Here's chapter one for you all.**_

 _ **I'm going with what Derek said in one of the episodes about Eleven people being in the house when it was set on fire.**_

 _ **I hope you like this chapter and please, let me know what you think! :D**_

 _ **Fire and Ash.**_


	3. Chapter 2 - Wolf Moon

**_Brooklyn, New York City_**

 ** _January 4th, 2011_**

Alex sighed as she watched Rosalie and Hayley as they chased each other around the back yard. The two blonde eleven year olds shrieked with laughter as they abruptly collided with each other and landed face down in the grass. Unfortunately for Alex, she had been forced into babysitting duty as Madison, James and David left for work for the day and her brother claimed he was far too busy trying to get a hold of Laura, who had left about a week ago, heading back to Beacon Hills for a reason that her siblings had yet to tell her.

"Alex!" Hayley called, pulling the brunette from her thoughts. Alex looked up and held her arms out as they ran towards her, knocking her backwards onto the porch.

"You two are filthy," Alex sighed in disgust. "Maddie is gonna kill me."

"No worries, we'll just say we overpowered you," Rosalie grinned widely.

"She's not going to believe that," Alex pointed out with a light smirk. There was definitely no way that the fierce blonde alpha would believe them for a second, not after seeing how well Alex could fight and defend herself.

"Alexandria Celeste Hale!" Derek's loud, booming voice sounded from inside and she cringed, knowing that she was about to get an earful from her brother, for what reason, she didn't know.

"Wait here, okay?" She set the twins down and waited until they nodded in agreement before running over to the porch swing and flopping onto it. "Derek?" she called, walking into the house and following his scent to her room at the back of the house. "What are you _doing?_ "

Derek paid little attention to her demand as he haphazardly shoved her clothes into one of her large duffel bags. Alex rushed over and grabbed his arms, struggling to still his movements as he fought against her.

"Derek!" she barked loudly, finally stopping him. "What the hell are you doing?"

"We're leaving, _now,_ " Derek told her as he huffed in irritation as she wormed her way between him and the duffel bag. "Alex, _move._ "

"Not until you tell me what's gotten into you," she answered back, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Something's happened to Laura, we're going to look for her."

"How do you know something's happened to her?" she questioned and gazed up at him. "She's probably glad that she's away from us for a while."

"Something's happened to her, I can feel it and so can you." Derek nudged her aside and picked up where he left off, dumping her box of memories into a new bag along with her favourite grey blanket and her books and CD's.

"Okay, maybe you're right, but shouldn't we have proof before we go rushing back to Beacon Hills only to find out that she's fine and we wasted both our time and hers?" Alex tucked a lock of her dark, chocolate brown hair behind her ear. She knew Derek was right, she could feel it too, it was like something terrible had occurred and a strange emptiness had settled in her chest.

"Alex, this is Laura we're taking about," he exhaled loudly. "Our _alpha_. We can't just sit here doing nothing, she could be in serious trouble right now."

"Okay, okay. Go pack your own belongings, I'll finish up here," she sighed, giving in. One thing that she could never do was argue or refuse to cooperate with her siblings when they had their minds set on something. When Derek left the room, Alex emptied out the bag with her clothes and folded them neatly, setting them back in her duffel when she was satisfied that they had no creases in them.

"What are we gonna do about the twins?" she called to Derek.

"Madison's finishing early, she'll be here in ten minutes."

"And she knows we're leaving?"

"She put up as much of an argument as you did, until I reminded her that she would do the same thing for one of her pack mates."

"Ooh, I bet she caved after that. Maddie would do anything for those rascals," Alex chuckled in response.

Derek made a sound of agreement and appeared in her door moments later, taking one of her bags for her as she shouldered the other one. She hesitated, sending a glance around the room that had been her home for the past six years and turned her head away, grasping onto Derek's hand for comfort.

* * *

 _ **Three days later**_

 _ **(Friday, January 7th)**_

 _ **Beacon Hills, California.**_

"There's no sign of her, Derek." Alex rubbed her eyes as she sat down on the creaky staircase and eyed him cautiously. "It's like she's just disappeared."

"She can't have just vanished. Her scent was all over this house and that letter she left for you was taped to the fireplace," Derek argued.

"Ugh, why did she have to enrol me at that stupid school?" Alex groaned, tilting her head back against the stairs.

"You'll be able to keep an eye out, see if anyone has seen Laura or heard something that could point us in the right direction," he pointed out simply. His sister let out a low growl of annoyance at his words, knowing that he was right, but didn't want to admit it.

"Fine, I'll go to school. But I refuse to participate in any high school experiences." She cocked her head to the side, raising an eyebrow at him. "What are you gonna do while I'm stuck around a bunch of sexually frustrated humans?"

"Search for Laura... and stock up on more groceries." Derek shrugged.

"Hmm, sounds fun."

"Why don't you go for a run?" Derek suggested, eager to kick her out for a couple of hours.

"What if someone sees me?" she asked as she stood up, stretching until her bones cracked.

"It's dark out, no one will catch you, your fur is too dark," he replied. "Just be careful, okay?"

"Hah, I'm always careful."

Alex pulled her shoes and socks off, tossing them behind her as she ran outside, jumping off of the porch and racing into the forest, pulling her tank top, shorts and underwear off and storing them in a gap in a tree before turning into her wolf form and rushing away from her house.

* * *

"Come on, Scott!"

Alex's ears twitched at the oddly familiar voice and she dropped the remains of the rabbit, licking the blood from her snout as she stalked slowly towards the sound. She jumped backwards as a pair of teenage boys burst through the trees, startling her and causing her to pull her lips back to show off her razor sharp teeth as she snarled at them.

"Woah," the boy with the buzz cut gasped, eyes landing on her defensive form. " _That_ is a big wolf."

"We should probably run," the curly, black haired male suggested, heart beating frantically.

Alex rose to her full height, dropping her defensive act and sat down, licking her lips as she watched them through glowing yellow-gold eyes. The boy with the buzz cut looked at her in confusion, obviously wondering why she was just sitting there and not attempting to attack them.

"Why isn't it attacking?"

She puffed her cheeks out at being called an 'it' before barking at them, causing the two males to jump in surprise. She slowly crept towards them, making sure not to make a sudden move that would cause them to strike out at her in an attempt to defend themselves.

"Huh, maybe it's half wolf, you know, like a Saarloos wolfdog or a Czechoslovakian wolfdog." Stiles shrugged, staring at the dark brown, almost black wolf.

"Stiles, I don't really care if it's half dog, it has sharp teeth and just killed a rabbit. I really think we should run."

Alex's ears pricked and her eyes widened at his name, her lips pulled up into a grin and she bumped her head against Stiles' chest. Her chest rumbled happily as her old friend raised a shaking hand and set it on her head, scratching behind her large ear.

"I have never seen a wolf do that before," Stiles hissed at Scott, who nodded dumbly, gaping at the wild animal.

"Me neither."

"Maybe it can lead us to the body, wolves have great sense of smell," Stiles beamed at the thought and Alex raised her head, staring up at him with confusion in her eyes. "Can you smell the body? Can you take us to it?"

She rolled her eyes, thinking how stupid her friends were being, only they would come to the woods in the middle of the night and start searching for a dead body. She did as he asked, glancing around as she searched for the smell of decay that usually came with bodies. With a quick bark at the two boys, she stalked towards the trees, looking back to find them still standing there, watching her. Rolling her eyes, she barked again, jerking her head to the trees, and this time, they seemed to get the message, hesitantly following after her and being swallowed by the darkness as they headed further into the woods.

Alex pulled to a stop, eyes flashing as bright beams of light and the sound of dogs barking caught her attention. Scott and Stiles followed her gaze and dropped down, turning the flash light off and Scott reached out, tugging at Alex's fur until she huffed and lay beside them.

"Come on!" Stiles scrambled to his feet and took off, leaving Scott and Alex behind.

"Stiles!" Scott whisper-yelled after his friend. He took a few puffs of his inhaler before running after Stiles, Alex darting after them, trying to keep both of them in her sights as the wind tangled with her fur and battered her in the face. "Stiles!"

Stiles slowed down, standing still as he waited for Scott to catch up. A loud bark sounded from beside him and he spun around, getting blinded by the cop's flash light temporarily as he fell backwards, the German Shepard barking and growling at him and the cop ordered him to stay where he was.

Alex latched onto Scott's sleeve quickly, tugging him behind a large oak tree and out of sight of the cops. He sank down, pulling his knees to his chest and sending a thankful look at her. She licked his hand as she lowered herself down onto the cold ground and rested her head on her paws.

"Hang on, this delinquent belongs to me."

She peered around the tree and watched as Stiles' dad grabbed him by the back of his coat, yanking him to his feet. Scott followed her gaze and sighed, knowing that his friend was going to be sent home and he would have to walk all the way back into town.

"Dad, how you doing?" Stiles asked sheepishly, brushing grass from his clothes.

"So, uh, were you listening in on my phone calls?" John questioned, giving his son a disapproving stare.

"No...well, not the boring ones."

"Where's your usual partner in crime?" John glanced around, searching for any sign of Scott. Alex got to her feet, nose twitching as she took in the new scent that drifted towards her, a low growl built up in her throat and before Scott could do anything, she took off running, paws pounding against the ground as she disappeared from sight.

"Who? Scott?" Stiles queried, pretending to be clueless about the location of his best friend.

"Yes, _Scott,_ " his dad scowled at him.

"Scott's home, said he wanted to get a goodnight's sleep for first day back at school tomorrow," Stiles replied. "Just me. In the woods. _Alone._ "

"Scott? You out there?" John called, turning away from Stiles. Scott stayed still, peeking around the tree quickly and ducking out of sight as Stiles jerked his head. "Well young man, I'm gonna walk you to your car and you and I are gonna have a conversation about something called an invasion of privacy."

Scott let out a muffled curse as Stiles was marched back through the trees, his dad keeping a secure grip on the back of his neck as he made sure his son wouldn't run off.

Scott waited for a few moments before he took of walking, heading back the way he and Stiles and come before running into the cops, as he walked, he was unaware of the two sets of eyes that followed his every move, one pair was the glowing yellow eyes of Alex and the other was the blood red ones of the alpha Alex was looking for, thinking it might be Laura because she could smell her sister's faint scent surrounding the woods.

He pulled his hood up over his head and stopped after a few minutes to take his inhaler, what he didn't expect was for a herd of deer to come stampeding in his direction. He let out a panicked yelp as he was knocked backwards and his inhaler flew out of his hand. He covered his head with his arms as the large creatures flew over him, hooves colliding with the ground as they fled into the trees.

Scrambling to his feet, he pulled his phone out and used the flash light app to search the forest floor for his inhaler, the light suddenly landed on something pale and Scott raised his head, eyes landing on the top half of a female's body. A yell of horror escaped as he tripped backwards, rolling down a steep hill and landing on his stomach.

Alex whined, abandoning her hiding place as she flopped down in front of the body, staring at Laura's pale, blood splattered face with tears welling in her eyes. Raising her head, she let out a loud, heart broken howl, knowing that Derek would be able to hear her. She nudged Laura's head lightly, breathing in her fading scent before turning and darting after Scott, knowing that he was possibly in danger and refusing to lose another person that she cared about.

Scott set his hands on the trunk of a fallen down tree and heaved himself up and over it, swaying slightly as he regained his balance. The sound of growling met his ears and he froze, slowly turning his head, thinking it was the dark brown wolf from before. His eyes landed on a pitch black shape with red eyes that lunged at him, knocking him to the ground and sinking its teeth into his side. He screamed in agony, back arching off of the ground and a moment later, the black animal was knocked off of him, tumbling to the ground a few feet away and the brown wolf pushed him to his feet before it turned and let out a ground shaking roar as it charged at Scott's attacker. Scott took off into the trees, not looking back as he ran away from the quarrelling wolves, snarls and thumps sounding behind him.

* * *

After fighting off the alpha wolf and giving Scott enough time to escape, Alex limped back towards her and Derek's house, blood matted in her chocolate fur and a large, bleeding bite mark on her right shoulder. She let out a loud whine and her brother appeared, running down the porch steps and dropping to his knees in front of her.

"What happened?" he demanded, brushing his hand over the aching wound.

Alex shifted back into her human form and pulled on her shorts and tank top. She stumbled into him and latched onto his arms, holding herself up.

"L-Laura's dead," she sobbed, slumping into her brother and resting her head on his chest. "And th-there's a new alpha in town. He attacked Scott and I fought him off."

"Laura's dead," Derek repeated numbly, barely noticing as Alex shook in his grip, tears staining his shirt.

"They cut her in half," she gasped, heart clenching tightly. "She's just lying there, in the woods."

Derek's hand rubbed against her wound and she let out a pained cry, clutching her shoulder with a shaking hand. He shook his head and dragged her into the house, pushing her down onto the burnt couch and setting a first aid kit beside him. He seemed to drift in and out of focus as he poured disinfectant liquid onto a small cloth and dragged it over the bite, ignoring her whines of pain and took out a large square of gauze, setting it on the front of her shoulder and wrapping a bandage around it to keep it in place.

"I didn't listen," she whispered, meeting his dull gaze.

"What are you talking about?"

"Y-you said something was wrong... that you felt Laura was in trouble. I thought you were overreacting and I didn't _listen_ and now she's _dead_."

"It's not your fault," Derek told her sternly, grabbing her hands. "I... I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" she asked curiously, watching her brother closely. "What are you hiding?"

"I didn't want to worry you, but there are hunters in town."

"Do you think they did this to her?" She hunched over, rubbing her arms and paling rapidly.

"I can't think of anyone else who would've done this," Derek responded, eyes flashing.

"We're going to war, aren't we?" Alex questioned as he stood up. "We can't let them get away from this."

"I agree with you, but we can't do anything until we have proof that they broke the code."

"Der, they broke the code when they came into town six years ago and burned our family alive."

* * *

 **Monday, January 10th**

 **Beacon Hills High School**

Three days later, Alex decided that she was going to keep her promise to Laura, she was going to start attending Beacon Hills high school while Derek searched for clues and evidence that would pin the death of their sister on the hunters that had come to town.

After talking to Derek about what they were going to do about the hunters the previous night, she had led him back to Laura's body and they had buried her, digging a hole big enough to fit her in and then putting a rope with wolfs bane attached to it in a spiral—their symbol of revenge—around her grave and covering it up.

Derek gave her a ride to the school on the morning of her first day and she hesitated, sighing as she took in the large building and the empty-of-all-people parking lot. Her brother squeezed her left hand, causing her to look at him curiously.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to."

"I do. Laura wanted me to go school, so I'm going," she replied and grabbed her bag. "I'll be okay, Derek. If anything bad happens, I'll run and find you."

"I don't want to lose you," Derek admitted quietly, glancing at her. Alex's chest tightened at the vulnerable look on her brother's face, he rarely let her know how he really felt, after what happened with Kate and the fire, he didn't trust anyone enough to show emotions. "You're all I have left."

"Derek, you're not gonna lose me," she promised, taking his hand again. "I will _never_ leave you."

"Good," he nodded sharply, closing himself off again. "You should go, before you're late."

"I'll see you later," she cracked a smile and kissed his cheek before climbing out of the Camaro and closing the door. Derek nodded and drove off, disappearing around the corner before she even got close to the school.

She gazed around in confusion, seeing as she had no clue where to go. A hopeful look crossed her face as she caught sight of a dark brown haired girl sitting on a bench a few feet away.

"Excuse me?" she asked as she reached the girl.

"Hold on a second," the girl stated politely, holding a hand up. "Yes, mom, I'll be fine. I gotta go, love you too."

The girl ended the call before locking her phone and sliding it into the pocket of her jacket. She turned towards Alex and smiled up at her.

"Do you know where you're supposed to go if you're new?" Alex questioned, sitting next to the brunette.

"Oh, sorry, I don't know actually," she apologized. "I'm new here too."

"I'm glad I'm not the only one then. We can share the attention today," she grinned and held a hand out. "I'm Alex Hale."

"Allison." She shook Alex's hand. "Allison Argent."

Alex froze at the dark haired girl's last name, she shoved the anger and resentment she felt down and smiled tightly at the girl, wondering if Allison was a hunter or if she hadn't been told about what her parents did yet. As she continued to talk to the Argent, she came to the conclusion that Allison was completely oblivious about werewolves and hunters and silently hoped that it would stay that way, Alex already liked the girl and didn't want anything bad to happen to her or because of her. The two of them continued to talk to each other, until the vice-principal appeared and approached them, he spoke to them briefly about where they had lived before coming to Beacon Hills as he gestured for them to follow him to their first class; English.

Alex gazed around the classroom at all the faces staring back at her and Allison with curious eyes. Her liquid chocolate eyes met a pair of warm whisky coloured ones that twinkled with mischief and she found herself smiling slightly as she looked at the beaming face of Stiles.

"Class, these are your new students, Allison Argent and Alexandria Hale. I trust that you'll make them feel welcome," the teacher introduced them dryly before gesturing towards the two empty seats at either side of the classroom.

"I'll wait for you after class," Alex promised, smiling at Allison before heading to her seat, rolling her eyes as she noticed that the other students were staring at her and whispering. She sighed, she'd only been in the classroom for two minutes and they were already gossiping about her returning and the Hale house fire.

She sat there for about five minutes, reading the assigned book when her old friend began poking her with his pen. She turned around and glowered at him, gaining a grin in return.

"We'll begin with Kafka's Metamorphosis on page 133," the teacher told the class, turning back to the board.

"Can I help you?" she whispered, glancing back at Stiles whilst trying not to get the teacher's attention on her.

"It's good to see you again, Superwoman." His grin grew in size as he bounced slightly in his seat.

"The feeling is mutual, Batman," she smiled slightly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Stiles chuckled at the nickname, leaning closer.

"Do you want me to show you around after class?"

"That would be great actually." She nodded, glancing over at Allison. "Can you show Allison around as well?"

"Sure, a friend of yours is a friend of mine," he smiled.

She nodded and turned around to continue reading the book. She found herself looking forward to meeting Stiles after class; his hyper personality was definitely something that she had missed from her time away.

* * *

Alex smiled happily as the bell rang, signalling the end of class. She quickly slid the book into her messenger bag and waited patiently for Stiles. Allison soon walked over clutching a large purple folder to her chest and she greeted her with a smile.

"Allison, this is Stiles, he's an old friend," she introduced. "He's going to show us around."

"It's nice to meet you, Stiles," Allison nodded. "I have history next, what about you, Alex?"

"Algebra 2," she replied after a quick glance at her schedule.

"Why did you sign up for Algebra 2?" Stiles questioned in disbelief, taking the piece of paper from her. "And French 2?"

"What? I took those subjects when I was in Brooklyn," she said defensively. "And I like French and Algebra."

Stiles snorted at her lame answer before he gestured for them to follow him out of the classroom and into the now crowded hallway.

* * *

"Allison!" Alex called as she headed down the corridor towards the other girl. Words could not describe how glad she was that her first day at school was now over with.

"Hey," Allison greeted and drew her first friend in Beacon Hills into a one armed hug.

"How's your day been so far?"

"Intense," Allison admitted, closing her locker. "People sure do like to stare."

"Ugh, I know right?"

At that moment, a strawberry blonde haired girl approached and grinned widely at the two of them. Alex shifted slightly, hoisting the strap of her messenger bag onto her shoulder. She knew exactly who the girl was; Lydia Martin, Queen Bee, the leader of the pack, the most popular girl in school.

"That jacket, is absolutely killer," Lydia stated in approval, glancing at Allison's coat before turning to Alex. "I love those boots."

Alex glanced down at her high heeled, dark grey ankle boots and smiled politely at the strawberry blonde. "Thanks, my sister got them for me, along with a bunch of others."

"She has good taste," Lydia praised and turned back to Allison. "Where did you get that jacket?"

"Oh, my mom was a buyer for a boutique back in San Francisco," Allison explained.

"And you two are my new best friends," Lydia smirked, pointing a finger at them as a sandy brown haired male approached them, slipping his arms around Lydia. "Hey Jackson."

Alex tensed, feeling eyes on them and she turned her head to find Scott watching them closely, looking like he could hear their conversation, despite the fact that they were halfway down the corridor. Scott caught her staring and flushed deeply before turning away.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, listening into Scott, Stiles and a dark haired girl's conversation as Allison continued speaking to Lydia and Jackson.

" _Can someone tell me how the new girls are here all of five minutes and they're already hanging out with Lydia's clique?"_ the girl asked in disbelief.

" _Because they're both hot,_ " Stiles sighed, glancing over at the group and watching as Alex's lips twitched up into a smirk. " _Beautiful people herd together._ "

Alex smiled, her ears burning at the fact that she'd just been called both beautiful and hot in one sentence, and by her oldest friend at that. She shook her head, playing with the ends of her hair as she tuned back into the conversation in time to hear Lydia invite Allison to a party on Friday.

"A party?" Allison asked curiously.

"Yeah. Friday night, you two should come," Jackson input, arm hooked around Lydia's waist.

"Are you free on Friday..." Lydia trailed off, staring at Alex.

"Alex Hale," she replied with a shrug. "I'm not busy, but it really depends on what my brother says."

"Uh, I can't. It's family night this Friday. Thanks for asking though," Allison answered as she fiddled with the strap of her bag.

"You sure?" Jackson pried with a smile. "I mean, everyone's going after the scrimmage."

"You mean like football?" Allison frowned.

"It's Lacrosse here actually," Alex explained, chuckling at Jackson and Lydia's looks of surprise. "I, uh, I used to live in Beacon Hills, so I know about the sports and stuff."

"Football's a joke," Jackson added, nodding at Alex. "Like she said, the sport here is Lacrosse. We've won the state championship for the past three years."

"All because of a certain team captain," Lydia said proudly, messing with his hair.

"Well, we have practice in a few minutes," Jackson started. "That is, if you don't have anywhere else..."

"I'm free, I was just gonna go explore the school, but watching Lacrosse sounds fun," Alex answered politely.

"Well, I was going to..." Allison was cut off as Lydia grasped her and Alex's arms tightly.

"Perfect, you're coming," the perky blonde chirped and proceeded to drag the two girls down the corridor, Jackson following them with an amused smirk.

As they headed away from Scott and Stiles, she noticed Allison send a shy glance back at Scott before blushing when she realised Alex had caught her looking.

* * *

"You like him," Alex teased, surprisingly at ease around the Argent girl. She grinned as Scott stopped in the middle of field and openly stared at Allison. "And I think he likes you."

"I don't like him," Allison denied as they sat on either side of Lydia. Their new friend scoffed in disbelief, gaining a frown from Allison and a chuckle from Alex.

"You totally do. You're blushing," Lydia pointed out.

"McCall!" the three of them turned to watch as the coach stopped in front of Scott.

"Yeah?" the tanned boy asked, his Lacrosse stick resting on his shoulder.

"You're in goal." The dark haired man threw a handful of equipment at Scott.

"I've never played," Scott argued weakly.

"I know," the coach chuckled. "Scoring some shots will give the boys a confidence boost. It's a first day back thing."

"He's kinda mean," Alex said, leaning towards her friends.

"You get used to it," Lydia pursed her lips in response.

"Who is that?" Allison asked and they followed her gaze to Scott as he stood in the goals.

"Him? I'm not sure who he is," Lydia shrugged. "Why?"

"He's in my English class," Allison explained.

"His name is Scott McCall," Alex told her, seeing Scott glance at her in surprise. "We were best friends before I moved to New York."

A man standing at the side of the field blew the whistle and Scott dropped his stick, clutching his head and groaning in pain. Alex's eyes widened in realization, Scott was a werewolf now, that was why he was reacting like that, he could hear the whistle but it was magnified due to his new enhanced hearing. She had completely forgotten that he'd been bitten, she had been far too busy trying to fight off the alpha to pay much attention to her friend... and then she had had to break the news of Laura's death to her brother.

Alex knew that this wasn't good, that he probably had no clue what was happening, he had no way of knowing how to control it. Despite the seriousness of the situation, she couldn't, however, stop the burst of laughter that escaped as one of the other players threw the ball and it hit Scott's helmet, knocking him onto the ground.

"Way to catch it with your face, McCall," the Lacrosse player called, laughing. Stiles shook his head, making a noise of pity at his friend. Scott rose to his feet, standing in the goals with his back as straight as it could possibly go. Alex bit her lip nervously, wondering if she should step in if he got too angry or aggressive and at the same time, she wished Derek was there, he would definitely know what to do.

"Yeah!" Stiles yelled as Scott surprisingly caught the ball with his stick.

"Go Scott!" Alex cheered as he caught the next few balls.

"Whoa!" Stiles joined in, sharing her enthusiasm.

"He seems like he's pretty good," Allison commented and smiled as Alex jumped to her feet, cheering.

"Yeah. Very good," Lydia agreed.

" _Oh god,_ " Alex heard Scott groan as Jackson pushed his way to the front of the line, glaring at Scott as he started running towards him. Scott ducked to the side, catching the ball and staring at it in surprise, as if he couldn't believe he'd actually caught it.

"That's my friend!" Stiles jumped to his feet at the same time as Lydia.

" _Whoo!_ " Lydia called, causing Jackson to glare at her, she simply cocked her head to the side, raising an eyebrow.

"I think your boyfriend is jealous." Alex nudged Lydia with a grin.

"He'll get over it," Lydia replied confidently, returning Alex's smile.

As soon as practice was over, the three of them left the sports field, heading back through the school and stopping at Lydia's car, who drove Allison home first and then dropped Alex off at the trees near her house, taking off as soon as Alex disappeared into the forest.

* * *

"Derek!" Alex called, closing the door behind her and walking further into the chilly entrance hall.

"How was your first day?" Derek asked and she spun around to find him leaning against the living room's door frame.

"It was... _eventful_ ," she admitted as she dropped her bag and hurried over to him. He opened his arms to her and she huddled into his warmth, wrapping her arms around his waist as he set his around her shoulders.

"You're nervous, and worried." He glanced down at her.

"I saw Stiles and Scott again," she said. She buried her face in his neck. "And... and Scott's a werewolf now."

"How?" Derek stiffened at her news.

"When I fought the alpha in the woods, he bit Scott and I _completely_ forgot about it until today."

"He didn't do anything, did he?"

"No, other than catch every single ball at the Lacrosse practice."

Alex pulled away from her brother and fiddled with the buttons on her coat. Derek's eyes narrowed as he took in his baby sister's tense form and the torn expression on her face.

"You're hiding something."

"I, uh... the Argent's are in town. They're the hunters you were speaking about," she said quietly. "And I sort of befriended Chris and Victoria's daughter Allison."

Derek was silent for a few moments. "You did what?"

"I couldn't help it!" She threw her arms up. "She's nice. She doesn't know about werewolves or hunters."

"How can you be so sure?" he demanded. "You can't trust them."

"Derek," she started gently, taking his hands. "I know that the she-devil _Kate_ hurt you, and that you think the Argents are dangerous, but Allison's different. If you met her, you'd see it too," at Derek's look of disbelief, she continued, "I swear to you that if Allison is as bad as Kate, then I'll run, okay? I'll go straight to you, just like always."

Derek remained silent, a typical broody look on his face as he assessed her. Alex exhaled loudly through her nose, irritated at his lack of emotions and the way he made her feel small just by looking at her.

"Someone's here," he said finally, his eyes sweeping the house before landing on the door.

"What? At the house? Or in the woods?"

"The woods." He grabbed her wrist and tugged her outside, dragging her into the woods.

She grinned in amusement as they finally stopped after five minutes of walking to find Scott and Stiles crouching and brushing leaves aside, clearly looking for something. Derek glared at her and she sighed, schooling her features into a mask of indifference and crossed her arms over her chest, following his example as he stared at them with narrowed, eyes and stood there silently. Stiles noticed them first, reaching out and hitting Scott and they quickly stood up.

"What are you doing here?" Derek demanded, stalking forward with Alex on his heel. "Huh?"

"This is private property," Alex told them, looking like a female version of Derek with her black leather jacket, red tank top, black skinny jeans and her high heeled ankle boots, and with her sour expression. Her facial structure was also pretty similar to his, they both had high cheekbones, strong jaw lines and their mom's light olive complexion and dark hair.

"Uh, sorry man. We didn't know," Stiles said, looking at Derek instead of Alex.

"Yeah, we were just looking for something, but..." Scott trailed off. Derek raised his eyebrows. "Forget it."

"Give it to him." She nudged Derek lightly. Her brother rolled his eyes and did as she said, pulling Scott's inhaler from his pocket and tossing it at the teenager.

"Bye Scott, bye Stiles." Alex wiggled her fingers and turned away from them and gracefully strolled after her sibling.

" _Right, I gotta get to work_ ," Scott said as Alex used her enhanced hearing to listen to their conversation.

" _Dude. That was Derek Hale. Alex's brother,_ " Stiles barked and she could hear him hit Scott. " _You remember him right? He's like only a few years old than us._ "

" _Remember what?_ "

" _Their family. They all burned to death in a fire like ten years ago,_ " Stiles continued, staring at Scott. Alex spun on her heel, about to go and correct them when Derek grabbed her upper arm, preventing her from moving.

" _I wonder why they came back,_ " Scott frowned. Stiles shrugged before the two of them walked away.

* * *

"So, a little bird told me that you and Scott are going to Lydia's party on Friday. Together. On a date," Alex smirked, leading the dark haired girl to the stands.

"How did you know that?" Allison gaped at her, confused as to how she could possibly know about her and Scott's date.

"Scott told Stiles, who eventually blabbed to me when I wouldn't stop pestering him."

"He asked me last night," Allison smiled blissfully. "I... I kinda hit a dog with my car and he was so kind, he loaned me a shirt because mine was soaked and he bandaged the dog's leg and he asked me after he walked me to my car."

"Wow, I never knew Scott was such a ladies man," Alex teased, but her voice held some sense of truth. "He was always so awkward and nerdy."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah." She wiggled her eyebrows and stuck her tongue out, causing Allison to giggle.

"You are _so_ weird," Lydia scoffed as she took her place beside them.

"But that's why you love us." Alex tossed an arm around Lydia's shoulder.

Allison rolled her eyes at them, focusing on the Lacrosse try outs and wincing as Jackson rammed into Scott, knocking him to the ground. Alex kept a close eye on Scott, remembering what Derek had told her, she had to make sure he didn't turn, or reveal what they were to anyone. It was something that was gonna be hard to do, seeing as he was dodging the other players, doing flips and scoring a goal without breaking a sweat. The other players surrounded Scott, patting him on the back and congratulating him, whilst Jackson simply glared, jealous and angry that Scott was getting so much attention.

"McCall, get over here!" Coach Finstock yelled. The man began yelling at Scott about what he was doing and something about a gymnastics team.

"Wait, there's a gymnastics team?" Alex asked, curious.

"There's also a cheerleading squad," Lydia said.

"I think I'm gonna try out for the cheerleading squad. I used to do it at my old school."

"You should totally go for it," Allison encouraged and Lydia nodded in agreement.

"Well, you're starting buddy!" Finstock slapped Scott's chest. "You made first line."

Scott's eyes widened and the students sitting near them stood up, cheering for Scott. The dark haired boy grinned happily, bouncing on his feet as Stiles looked nervous, rubbing his jaw roughly.

* * *

 **Friday, January 14th, 2011**

 **Stilinski Household**

The first week of school passed quickly, much to Alex's relief and it was now Friday, the night of Lydia's big back-to-school party. She was glad she'd gotten dressed for the event right after school, because she'd gotten a phone call from Stiles—much to her surprise—who had apparently hounded Allison until the other new girl gave in and told Stiles Alex's phone number. Which brough her to now, as she turned up the path that led to the Stilinski residence and made her way into the seemingly deserted house.

"Stiles?" Alex called as she walked up the stairs. "What was so urgent?"

She walked into his room to find him sitting at the computer, scrolling through something with a completely focused look on his face. She sighed, heading over to him and looking over his shoulder. Stiles was reading a wiki page about Lycaon, the first werewolf.

"Why are you reading about werewolves?" she asked, pretending that she didn't know why he was researching her kind.

"Because I think Scott might be one," he answered, not looking away from the screen.

"Scott's... a _werewolf?_ "

"Yup," he nodded, knowing full well how ridiculous it sounded.

"Okay." She pulled the computer chair back slightly and sat down on his lap, reading the screen with him. Stiles shifted uncomfortably, not used to being so close to her, when she was younger, she hated it when he or Scott got too close to her, or when someone other than her family would enter her personal space. That's what made him wonder why she was suddenly so touchy-feely with him as she rested her back against his chest and set her hand over his, moving the computer's mouse to scroll down the page.

"Wolf's bane is poisonous to werewolves," she told him, speaking from experience. One of her uncles had been poisoned with wolf's bane when she was about 7 or 8, and it was definitely one of the scariest experiences of her life. "It comes in different types, but usually it's a small purple flower. I bet it could be even more deadly if it was used with silver bullets."

"Really? How would that work?" he asked as she turned, spine pressing against the arm of the chair and met his gaze.

"Crushing the wolf's bane and putting it in the silver bullet, probably," Alex explained, raising a book for him to see. "Silver slows werewolves down, but it won't kill them. However, if it's filled with wolf's bane, the wolf won't stand a chance unless he or she can reverse it."

"How can it be reversed?" Stiles asked eagerly.

"I was told a long time ago that it could be reversed if the wolf that was shot managed to get hold of another wolf's bane bullet and use the powder from that bullet to cancel out the wolf's bane already in their system."

"That's awesome," he exclaimed enthusiastically, not noticing her bitter frown and tense shoulders as a knock sounded at the door. Alex stood up and moved aside so Stiles could answer the door. Scott was standing in the hallway, and he grinned when the door opened. "Get in here. You gotta see this."

"Hi Scott," Alex greeted quietly as she moved across the room and sat on the bed.

"I've been up all night, reading. Websites, books, all this information," Stiles said, waving his arms about.

"How much Adderall have you had today?" Scot asked, amused.

"A lot. Doesn't matter, okay?" Stiles turned around, clutching a pile of paper in his hand.

"Is this about the body? Did they find who did it?" Scott set his bag down, sending a concerned glance at Alex as she tensed up.

"No. They're still questioning people. Even Derek Hale," Stiles explained, forgetting Alex was in the room.

"Oh, the guy we saw in the woods the other day?"

"What?" she demanded, standing up. "Why are they questioning my brother?"

"It doesn't matter!" Stiles told her. "And yes, that guy. But that's not it, okay?"

"What then?" Scott asked.

"Remember the joke from the other day?" Stiles looked at Scott. "Not a joke any more. The wolf, the bite in the woods," he held up a piece of paper. "I started doing all this reading. Do you even know why a wolf howls?"

"Should I?" Scott questioned.

"It's a signal. when a wolf is on its own, it howls to signal its location to the rest of the pack," Alex stated.

"Which means that if you heard a wolf howling, that means that others could have been close by," Stiles finished. "That brown wolf we saw, it could've been with a pack. It or one of its pack members could've been the one to bite you."

"A whole pack of wolves?"

"No, werewolves."

"Are you seriously wasting my time with this?" Scott asked in disbelief. "You know I'm picking Allison up in an hour."

"I saw you on the field today, Scott." Stiles held a hand up to stop his friend.

"I'm gonna go." Alex grabbed her jacket and pulled it on. "I'll see you at the party later."

Before they could stop her, she turned and disappeared out the door, hurrying down the stairs. As soon as she was outside, she headed in the direction of the woods and pulled her clothes off, changing into her wolf form when she was out of sight.

* * *

"Lydia?" Alex called as she stepped into the entrance hall of her friend's house and closed the door. "You there?"

"Upstairs. Hurry up," Lydia yelled back.

She headed up the marble staircase and followed her senses to find Lydia standing in her room, looking at a pile of clothes on her bed.

"Oh good, I'm glad you're here. What sho—" Lydia stopped, looking Alex up and down. "What is that?"

"My outfit?" she replied, confused as she looked down at her long sleeved, baggy, dark grey t-shirt, black skinny jeans and converses.

"Nope. You are not wearing that," the blonde said and dug through the clothes.

"What's wrong with it?"

"One, they are not flattering at all," Lydia answered. "And two, you need something that emphasises your curves. You know, if you've got it, flaunt it?"

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this," Alex frowned.

"Too bad." Lydia thrust a mid-thigh length, dark blue dress at Alex along with a pair of high heeled shoes. "We're the same size, so go put them on."

"Fine." Alex took the offered dress and shoes, headed into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the party was in full swing and Alex and Lydia had separated, Lydia drifting over to Jackson and Alex standing with Danny and some of the other Lacrosse players. Everyone else was well on their way to being drunk, while Alex wasn't even tipsy. Something she put down to her being a werewolf and having a high metabolism.

"Hey, I'll be right back," Alex told Danny loudly and he waved her off. She finished her cup of beer and headed over to her brother, who was lurking in the shadows. "You look really creepy standing there like that."

"Like what?" Derek asked, looking down at her.

"Like a stalker," she chuckled teasingly. She hugged him quickly before following his gaze over to Scott, who was staring right back at them. "You're keeping an eye on him. Aren't you?"

"It's the full moon tonight," he said seriously. A dog in the next yard started growling and barking at them, Derek turned his head and stared at it until it stopped, a sudden, wolfish smile playing at its lips. The fire in front of Derek and Alex illuminated their features, showing the caution in their eyes.

"I'm gonna go talk to Stiles for a minute, then we can go," Alex told him and walked away. She found Stiles a few minutes later and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, Stiles."

"Yo... hey Alex," Stiles said, glancing down at the dress that showed off her curves, he quickly looked away when he realized he had been staring.

"Are you enjoying the party?"

"Yeah, you?"

"I was. I have to leave now though," she shrugged, feeling her fingernails begin to elongate into claws. She hide her hand behind her back, burying her claws in her palm.

"Why? You okay?" he asked.

"I-I'm fine. I have a little headache, that's all." Alex smiled tightly and surprised both of them when she pulled him into a tight hug, an action that had her inner-wolf howling in delight. "I'll see you at school."

"B-bye," Stiles managed as she rushed away from him, finding a bag with her clothes in it lying on Lydia's bed. She hurried down the stairs and outside to where her brother was standing by the Camaro.

"You're turning, aren't you?" Derek asked immediately, taking her hand and prying her fingers open to reveal her sharp white claws.

"I can handle it." She tugged her hand free. "It's no big deal."

"It is a big deal," he argued, but before Alex could say another word, Scott ran past them, getting in his car and speeding off. Allison stood on the driveway, frowning at Scott's sudden departure. "Allison," her brother called, hands buried in his pockets. "I'm Alex's brother, and a friend of Scott's."

Alex rolled her eyes at Derek's small lie as Allison turned to look at them. When the Argent glanced at the road again, Derek moved closer.

"My name's Derek."

"Do you need a lift?" Alex spoke up, forcing her claws away before holding her hand out. "We don't mind, do we, Derek?"

"Not at all," he responded.

"That would be great, actually," Allison smiled and followed them to the car after taking Alex's offered hand. "I don't know what's wrong with Scott, he just started freaking out."

"I'm sure he's got a good enough reason," Alex reassured her.

* * *

Scott burst into his room, slamming the door behind him and leaning heavily against it. The moon shone brightly in the night sky as he panted heavily, securing an arm around his torso. He made the split decision and headed to the bathroom, peeling his coat and t-shirt off, throwing them on the floor with his shoes and socks before turning the shower on and climbing into the tub, sitting under the cold water.

A sudden, high pitched screech met his ears and he clutched his forehead tightly, face screwed up in pain. He raised a hand, watching in horror as claws replaced his nails. He scrambled out of the shower and wiped the condensation from the mirror, staring at his reflection as he cleared the bottom half of the mirror and opened his mouth, revealing four sharp fangs and his eyes turned a glowing yellow, similar to the brown wolf from the woods' eyes. Someone pounded on the door, the loud noise making his head ache again.

"Go away," Scott ordered weakly.

"Scott, it's me," Stiles said through the door. Scott unlocked the door and pulled it far enough so he could see Stiles' face without letting him in. "Let me in, Scott. I can help."

"No! Listen, you gotta find Allison."

"She's fine, alright. I saw her get a ride from the party," Stiles explained quickly. "She's totally fine."

"No. I think I know who it is," Scott breathed deeply.

"Just let me in. We can try-"

"It's Derek. Derek is the werewolf. He's the one that bit me." Scott interrupted. "Alex is one too, she's in on it. They're the ones who killed that girl in the woods."

Stiles looked down in shock. There was no way that Alex, _kind_ , _selfless_ Alex was capable of murder. Her brother, maybe, but her? It just wasn't possible. But when he thought about it, it made a little bit of sense, they show up and then Scott gets bitten, the girl's body shows up, they just so happened to find Stiles and Scott in the woods looking for Scott's inhaler and Derek had it, which meant that he was in the woods the night they were, as well as that brown wolf... what if _Alex_ was the brown wolf?

"You... what if Alex was that brown wolf we saw?" he asked, looking up. "I read that sometimes, female werewolves can turn into an actual wolf."

"It's the only possible explanation," Scott groaned, resting his head against the door.

"There's something else, Scott," Stiles hesitated. "Derek and Alex are the ones that drove Allison home from the party."

Scott slammed the door shut, locking it before running across the room and lunging out the window, leaving Stiles banging on his door, trying to get in.

* * *

"He's gonna come after us, you know that, right?" Alex asked, sweat beading on her forehead and dampening her curly brown locks. "Especially when Stiles would've gone straight to Scott after he saw us with Allison."

"I know. In fact, I'm counting on it," Derek answered, dragging her along.

"Wait..." she panted, feeling the moon's effect on her. She reached down and tugged her borrowed shoes off, storing them in a plastic bag and handing it to Derek. She quickly pulled the dress off, folding it up and sticking it in the bag as well and tugging on an old, ratty t-shirt of Derek's that fell to her knees.

A sudden roar tore through the silent air and Derek smirked in satisfaction, knowing that Scott was going to be coming their way. Alex sighed, crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes.

"Men," she grumbled.

"He's found her blazer," Derek said, remembering where he hung it from a tree branch.

"That's good to know," she countered sarcastically.

"Where is she?" Scott's voice demanded. Alex followed after Derek, fully prepared to turn if need be.

"She's safe... from _you_ ," her brother replied, staying out of Scott's sight.

An amused chuckle escaped as Derek tackled Scott, sending them rolling down a small dip in the forest floor. Derek grabbed Scott by the shoulders, pushing him up against a tree.

"What did you do with her?" Scott growled.

"Ssh, quiet," Derek ordered, turning his head away, listening to the sound of footsteps approaching. Alex's eyes flashed gold as she stood defensively beside the two male wolves. "Too late, they're already here. _Run._ "

Derek released Scott and ran off, the younger male wolf hesitated, looking around before hurrying after Derek. Alex peeled her top and underwear off and hid them in a hole in a nearby tree, her bones cracked and grew as she turned into her large wolf form. A flash of light hit the tree above Scott's head and he whined, covering his eyes with his arm as he was temporarily blinded. An arrow whizzed through the air, pining his arm to the tree, he let out a cry of pain. Glancing up through blurry eyes, Scott watched as three men appeared, two carrying guns and the other carrying a crossbow... that was pointed right at him.

"Take him," Chris Argent told the men behind him. A sharp growl filled the air and Alex stepped into the Argent patriarch's line of vision. The distraction gave Derek enough time to knock Argent's back up out and break the arrow in Scott's arm. The two males rushed out of sight. Alex's eyes zeroed in on the gun in Chris' hand and she lunged, teeth snapping as they latched onto the weapon and tugged it from his hand, throwing it out of reach.

Chris struggled but managed to bring out a taser gun and shoot the wolf in the side. Alex let out a pain yelped as electricity raced around her body, she stumbled sidewards, giving Chris the opportunity to grab his gun and fire a bullet into Alex's shoulder. She whined in pain, knowing she was defeated and growled one last time before half limping, half running out of sight.

"Who were they?" Scott gasped, sitting against a tree.

"Hunters," Derek answered, looking for any sign of Alex. "The kind that have been hunting us for centuries."

"Us? You mean you!" Scott argued. "You did this to me."

"Is it _really_ so bad Scott?" Derek asked, walking towards him. "That you can see better, hear more clearly, move faster than any human could ever hope? You've been given something that most people would kill for. The bite is a gift."

"I don't want it," Scott hissed.

"That's too bad," Alex breathed, appearing beside him. She'd gone back to where she'd stored her clothes and had pulled them on quickly before tracking down Scott and Derek.

"Alex, are you hurt?" Derek demanded, grabbing her shoulders and looking her over, noticing the blood on her arm.

"I'm fine, it's healing."

"You will want it," Derek said as he released Alex and they turned to Scott. "And you're gonna need me if you want to learn how to control it. So you and me, Scott we're brothers now. Just like Alex is now your sister too."

With that, Derek slipped his arm around Alex's shoulders and they walked away, leaving Scott sitting on the floor, his back rested against the rough bark of the large tree.

* * *

The next morning, Scott was walking down the road, topless with bare feet and clutching at his arm, looking at the spot where he'd been shot with an arrow. Stiles' jeep pulled up beside him and he stopped, leaning against the door before climbing in.

"You know what actually worries me the most?" Scott asked, holding Stiles' coat around him.

"If you say Allison, I'm gonna punch you in the head," Stiles replied.

"She probably hates me now."

"Ugh," Stiles groaned. "I doubt that. But you might want to come up with a pretty amazing apology... or you know, you could just tell her the truth and revel in the awesomeness of the fact that you're a frickin' werewolf." Stiles raised an eyebrow as Scott turned and glared at him, before he let out a weak chuckle and raised a hand in surrender. "Okay, bad idea. Hey, we'll get through this." He patted Scott's shoulder. "Come on, if I have to, I'll chain you up myself on full moon nights and feed you live mice. I had a boa once, I could do it."

Scott looked amused at the topic of discussion as he glanced over at his best friend. He scoffed once, gaining a smile from Stiles as he continued to drive.

* * *

 **Monday, January 17th**

"I had fun at the party on Friday," Alex told Lydia as they walked outside on Monday afternoon after school finished. "It's actually the first party I've been to... _ever._ " She admitted sheepishly as Lydia raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"We'll have to have them more often then," Lydia replied and took one look at the bag that contained her dress and shoes before handing it back. "You can keep it. It looks better on you, anyway."

"Oh. Uh, thanks, I guess," Alex said, surprised.

"There's Jackson. I'll see you later." Lydia gave her a one armed hug before walking over to her boyfriend.

"See ya," Alex smiled and turned, to find Scott staring at Chris Argent as he walked around the large, red tahoe pick up truck and then drove away. She walked over to Scott and leaned in, whispering into his ear. "You should be more careful. Who knows what he'd do to you if he discovered his daughter was going on dates with a werewolf."

"Just stay away from me and Stiles," Scott growled, grabbing her arm tightly.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. I was told to keep an eye on you." Alex twisted her arm quickly, grasping Scott's hand and bending it backwards until his wrist snapped. "I've been a wolf longer than you, if you ever try to grab me again, I'll do more than break your wrist. I'll break your nose and your jaw."

She released him and strolled away, climbing into the Camaro and smirking as she waved at Scott as he gingerly rubbed his slowly healing wrist.


	4. Chapter 3 - Second Chance at First Line

Alex let out a startled grumble as Derek suddenly swerved the car around, heading straight back the way they came. She turned to him with a frown, glowering at him as she waited for an answer.

"Somethings wrong," was all he said, barely sparing her a glance as the Camaro shot into the high school's parking lot and pulled to an abrupt halt in one of the free spaces.

"What are you talking about?" she demanded and scrambled out of the car, darting after him as he marched towards the back of the field where the Lacrosse practices were being held.

"Scott." Derek grasped her hand firmly, yanking hard to get her to speed up.

She sighed in frustration, mumbling, "Of course it's Scott, why wouldn't it be Scott?" under her breath as they skirted around the bleachers and came to a stop at the side of the field.

Alex looked towards the game just as Scott got knocked on his ass by Jackson, who smirked in amusement when the coach and the other players—minus Stiles—laughed at the poor wolf's misfortune. The coach then proceeded to compare Scott to his dead grandmother before shouting that the boy was going to have another shot.

She glanced up at her brother to find him frowning, his brows drawn together as he watched Scott closely. "We'll have to step in if he goes too far, won't we?"

"No one else will," Derek replied sharply. She rolled her eyes at her brother's tone but turned her attention back to the practice.

A gasp escaped involuntarily as Scott rammed into Jackson with enough force to send the human boy off his feet and onto the grass shoulders first. She stepped forward in time with her brother, fully prepared to step in if need be. The Hale siblings watched as Scott dropped to his knees, clutching his helmet tightly.

Without realizing it, Alex's eyes turned gold at the same time as Scott's did, and stayed that way, even as Derek grabbed her chin and jerked her head around to face him.

"What are you doing?" he hissed, staring into her golden orbs. "Stop that!"

"Stop what?" she shot back, completely confused.

"Never mind." He shook his head, releasing her when the gold faded from her eyes and returned to the usual hazel. "Go after the two idiots."

Alex did as he said hesitantly, turning away and darting across the field after Stiles and Scott, following all the way to the locker rooms.

Banging and startled yelps met her ears before she even got to the locker room, and a fierce sense of protectiveness washed over her, she felt determined to protect Stiles from Scott.

All she could focus on was her inner wolf chanting, ' _Stiles. Friend. Must protect,'_ as she lunged forward and kicked the door open, sending it crashing into the wall with a loud bang. Stiles' attention was drawn to her immediately, relief washing over his face as she grabbed his arms, pulling him to his feet and tugging him back towards the door.

Scott appeared on top of the lockers, snarling angrily when he caught her scent and his inner wolf started urging him to back away, to not fight this older, more experienced wolf, but his head was screaming at him to attack, to show her who was boss.

Alex growled back, feeling her bones shift and grow before she literally exploded in a ball of dark fur. A ground shaking roar left her mouth as Scott turned his attention to Stiles, who cowered back against the door. Alex attacked first, pouncing at Scott, sending him flying back against the lockers that nearly capsized under his weight.

Scott's answering growl was just as loud as Alex's, but nowhere near as effective. He drew his claws along her side and felt satisfied at the pained yelp she let out. She lunged again, shaking off the pain she felt and bit him roughly in the shoulder, throwing him through the room into the showers.

"A-Alex!" Stiles' shout caused her to turn her head and look at him with piercing gold eyes. His shout also gave Scott the advantage, he shoved her and she slipped across the floor, feeling her ribs crack as she collided with the wall. "Stop it! _Please!_ "

Before either of them could attack each other again, the cold white spray of the fire extinguisher washed over them, blinding them temporarily. Alex looked towards the door as the mist faded to find Derek standing protectively beside Stiles, who was holding the extinguisher and panting like crazy.

" _Alexandria Celeste Hale,_ " Derek rumbled, angry eyes locked on her. She let out a quiet whine, lowering herself into a submissive crouch at his voice. "Turn back. _Now._ "

Alex hesitated briefly before following his instructions and turning back to her human form… which just so happened to be completely naked. Heat immediately rose to her cheeks at the realization that her two oldest friends were seeing her naked.

"Uh… awkward," Stiles cleared his throat and looked away. Derek rolled his eyes and reached out, finding a large hooded sweatshirt lying on the bench beside him and tossed it to Alex, who pulled it on quickly, zipping it up to her neck.

"S-Stiles?" Scott's exhausted, confused voice drifted over to them.

The three of them turned to find Scott sitting on a bench, his helmet now sitting on the floor at his feet, the scratches on his face were already healing.

"What happened?"

"You tried to kill me," Stiles explained with a shrug, "Alex saved me… it's like I told you before, it's the anger, it's your pulse rising. It's a trigger."

"But that's Lacrosse," Scott argued weakly. Derek huffed, clearly bored with the conversation as he took hold of Alex's upper arm and dragged her out of the locker room, paying no attention to the frown Stiles shot him at the rough treatment he showed Alex.

His sister followed without question, keeping her eyes on the ground as they walked. She knew Derek was furious that she'd turned like that, especially in a place where anyone could've walked in and seen her. She just hoped he wasn't going to be too hard on her.

* * *

"You idiot," Derek growled, rubbing a hand over his face. "I can't believe you did that."

"I'm sorry," she whimpered pathetically. She was curled up in a ball on the couch, now wearing a pair of sweatpants, a grey tank top and the lacrosse hoodie from earlier.

"Do you know how much trouble you could've been in if someone walked in? If a _hunter_ had found you like that?" he yelled at her, not noticing the way she flinch at the volume and shifted away from him.

"I-I didn't mean for it to happen," she gasped out, feeling her heart rate increase when he turned to glare at her, his electric blue eyes full of anger and… and _fear_. "Scott, he… he was gonna _hurt_ Stiles. I _couldn't_ let him."

Derek watched her for a few moments before finally sighing, his eyes fading back to hazel and sat beside her, setting a hand on the back of her neck, squeezing gently. "I know you didn't mean for it to happen, but Alex, you _have_ to be careful. I can't lose you to the hunters as well… I _won't._ "

"I don't want to lose you either," she whispered. She moved closer to him slowly and curled up against his side, resting her head in the crook of his neck. "You're all I have left."

"The same goes for you," Derek returned, arm going around her shoulders and hugging her to him tightly. "Just be careful from now on, okay?"

"I promise."

* * *

The first thing Alex noticed the next morning was the heat radiating from Derek and warming her back. She rolled over onto her stomach, moving away from her brother and his furnace-like temperature.

Ever since the fire, the two of them had slipped into a nightly routine where Alex would wake up from a nightmare and go to Derek's room, seeking comfort from her brother, she would fall back asleep and wouldn't wake up again until the following morning.

She let out a low groan, burying her face in the pillow as Derek let out a rare chuckle and stood up, stretching until his bones cracked.

"Get up. You'll be late for school," he told her and pulled the comforter away, leaving her to shiver at the sudden cold.

"I don't wanna go," Alex whined loudly.

"Why not?"

"Because I might kill Scott if I do."

"I thought you two were friends," Derek frowned.

"We used to be, until he tried to kill Stiles and attacked me. Now I just think he's a dick." Alex rolled over, staring up at him with wide hazel eyes. Derek simply raised an eyebrow, clearly not going to show her any sympathy.

"Regardless of what you think of him, you need to keep an eye on him." Derek grabbed her outstretched hands and lifted her into a sitting position. "There'll be consequences if he shifts in front of the humans again."

"Fine. But _only_ because you asked so _nicely,_ " Alex teased and headed out of his room.

She grabbed a towel from her room and a change of clothes along with her shampoo and shower gel before exiting the house and heading for the creek just down the path. Although she wished they had a shower at their disposal, she rather enjoyed the creek because the water was always luke warm, mostly because of her unnatural temperature of 101 degrees.

A soft groan escaped as she jumped into the water after stripping down, the luke-warm water cascaded over her long hair and down her back, getting rid of the tension in her muscles and relaxing her.

"Alex, get a move on," Derek called from the house, knowing she could hear him. "I'll be leaving without you if you're not done in fifteen minutes."

"Jackass!" she shouted back, reaching for her vanilla shampoo and getting to work on her hair as quickly as she could. He better not leave without her, she had no idea how to get to the school from their house. Besides, even if she did, it would take over 30 minutes to get to the centre of town and then 10 more minutes to get to the school, which would make her _extremely_ late.

She had no doubt that Derek would leave her behind, he'd done it before so she knew to take his words very seriously.

* * *

Alex cursed her own bad luck as she stumbled out of the Camaro, spinning quickly to get her bag and jacket before slamming the door shut and racing for the school entrance as fast as she could wearing heels, sending a brief wave of goodbye over her shoulder at her brother.

As it turned out, her hair had decided to be uncooperative and take even longer to towel-dry and then style. She decided to just leave it down, with one side pulled back by a hair slide that used to belong to Laura. Her hair seemed to have a mind of its own, she'd left if completely straight after drying it, but somehow it had become curly, which actually suited her outfit more than her straight locks would have done.

She barged through the door, darting down the corridor in the direction of her locker. To her surprise, as she rounded the corner, she found Allison standing a few feet away at her own locker, frowning cautiously as she slowly reached into the locker.

"Allison?" she asked curiously. The dark haired girl jumped violently at Alex's voice, turning to face her quickly.

"Alex, hey. You scared me," Allison chuckled, hand to her chest.

"What's wrong?"

"I, uh… did you put my blazer in my locker?"

"Your blazer?" Alex repeated dumbly. Allison chuckled again as she took the black article of clothing from the locker to show her.

"No… I didn't. Maybe it was Lydia?"

"Yeah, maybe," Allison agreed finally. She put the blazer back in and took out her folder for French. "Hey listen, after the game tomorrow night, me, Scott, Lydia and Jackson are going out, do you wanna come?"

"Uh, I-I don't know," Alex frowned. "Won't that be awkward? You guys would be together and I'd be on my own…"

"You could ask Stiles to come?" Allison suggested as the two of them started walking towards their French class. "Or that cute curly haired guy that keeps staring at you?"

"What guy?" Alex questioned, a look of disbelief crossing her face.

"Uh, I think his name's Isaac," Allison replied, sending a wink at Alex before they entered the room and were forced to fall silent.

Alex was left to think over Allison's words, if she did decide to join them on a group outing, who should she ask to go with her? Stiles, her _oldest_ friend? Or the boy, Isaac, who apparently liked to stare at her?

* * *

"Where are we going?" Alex grumbled as Lydia pulled her and Allison after her towards a small group of teenage boys standing near the lockers.

"I'm introducing you and Allison to some of the Lacrosse teams hottest players," Lydia explained, grinning over her shoulder at Alex. She turned back around and smiled brightly, calling out to the group. "Hey guys. This is Allison and Alex. They're new here."

"Hey," a tanned male with dark hair and bright brown eyes greeted, holding a hand out to Alex. "I'm Danny."

"Alex Hale," she returned and took his hand, shaking it twice.

"This is Andrew Greenburg, Ben Simons and Steven Graham," Lydia introduced each of the players one by one and they all said 'hey' or 'nice to meet you' and Alex and Allison readily returned the greetings.

"So, Alex, are you coming to the game tomorrow night?" Ben asked as Lydia pulled another boy over to introduce to Allison.

"I dunno, maybe," she smiled politely.

"What she means is yes, she's definitely coming to the game tomorrow," Lydia input over Alex's shoulder, sending a warning glance at the brown haired girl. "And she's also coming out with us afterwards."

"Afterwards?" Steven slipped into the conversation easily.

"A triple date type thing," Lydia explained, pursing her lip gloss coated lips. "Such a shame Allison already set you up with someone, I would've enjoyed having that job."

"Uh, yeah, sorry. Allison told me about him earlier, and I already asked him." Alex shrugged before adding at Lydia's 'go on' look.

"He said yes."

"Who is he?"

Alex panicked for a moment before remembering the boy's name. "Isaac. His name's Isaac."

"Hmm, never heard of him," Lydia replied before engaging in conversation with the Lacrosse players.

"Thank God," Alex whispered lowly, glad that the strawberry blonde wasn't going to question her further on her supposed 'date'. She turned quickly on her heel and darted over to Allison and Scott, interrupting their conversation. "Allison! Listen I desperately need your help."

"What is it?" Allison asked in concern. Scott was also sending her a slightly concerned look.

"You need to tell me Isaac's last name, what he looks like and where I can find him," she replied quickly.

"Uh, he's got dark blonde hair, blue eyes and he's quite tall," Allison recalled, she had the same History class with Isaac.

"Wait, Isaac Lahey?" Scott demanded.

"Yeah," Allison grinned, "I was planning on setting him up with Alex for the triple date tomorrow after the game… or Stiles."

"Not Stiles." Scott shook his head frantically, gaining a weird look from both girls.

"You know what, I'm just gonna ask both and whoever says yes will be my date," Alex told them, knowing that going near Stiles was gonna get a rise out of Scott. "I'll see you later, Allison… Scott."

She turned on her heel and marched away, fully focused on finding Stiles and this Isaac person she'd been told about.

* * *

Alex felt a grin playing at her lips as she pulled her high heels off and snuck across the room towards Stiles, who was busy with his head buried in a thick looking book.

"Hey Stiles," she whispered in his ear, chuckling when he let out a yelp, jumping in surprise and tossing the book in the air by mistake. She caught it before it could even hit the floor.

"A-Alex, what're you doing here?"

"It's a library," she stated flatly. "Why wouldn't I be here?"

"Uh, you could've been doing something else… like baking rabbits in your little werewolf oven," Stiles retorted. Alex smiled in response.

"I was saving that to the weekend," she countered before turning serious. "Anyway, listen. I was wondering if you wanted to come out with us tomorrow after the game?"

"With who?"

"Scott and Allison, Jackson and Lydia and me," she replied.

"L-like a date type thing?" Stiles asked in a high voice.

"…I have no idea actually," Alex frowned thoughtfully. "It doesn't matter, Allison told me to ask either you or Isaac, so I thought I would ask you first. But if you don't wanna come that's fine, I'll just go find Isaac…"

Before Alex could stand up to leave the library, Stiles grabbed her wrist tightly, preventing her from moving. Her jaw clenched as her heart jumped at the sudden action and Stiles seemed to notice the change in her behaviour and released her as though he'd just been burned.

"I can go with you," he said quietly, "but you can ask Isaac if you'd prefer him."

Alex hesitated before patting his hand awkwardly and smiling gently at him. "I'll see you after the game tomorrow."

* * *

"Scott's here," Alex sing-songed from her position on the couch, one arm behind her head and the other over her stomach. "He's not happy."

"Get up, Alex," Derek ordered, walking past her. She let out a grumble as she rolled off of the couch and headed after him, tugging her jacket tighter around her body as she followed him out onto the porch, noticing Scott staring in the direction of Laura's freshly covered grave.

The younger beta jumped in surprise when he finally noticed them standing there. "Stay away from her!" Scott yelled, glaring at her brother. Alex rolled her eyes, already knowing who he was going on about. "She doesn't know anything."

"Yeah? What if she does?" Derek countered. He strolled across the porch before jumping off it and stopping in front of Scott. "You think your little buddy Stiles can just google werewolves and now you've got all the answers, is that it?"

Alex walked closer as well, reaching out and setting a hand on Scott's shoulder. "We're only trying to look out for you Scott, because we know how difficult it is."

"She's telling the truth," Derek said. "Think about what could happen. You're out on the field, the aggression takes over and you shift in front of _everyone."_

Alex watched closely as Derek leaned down and picked up Scott's Lacrosse stick, running his fingers over the white netting. "Your mom. All your friends," Derek continued, jabbing Scott in the chest with the stick. "And when they see you, _everything_ falls apart."

Derek finished his sentence by tearing holes in the white net with his claws. He tossed the stick in the air and as Scott reached out to catch it, both Alex and Derek rushed off, disappearing back inside the house.

* * *

Alex brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear as she walked further along the corridor until she came to a stop outside of her Uncle Peter's room. She hesitated before entering the room, almost recoiling in shock at the smell of pain and utter anguish.

"Uncle Peter?" she asked quietly, approaching the still form in the wheelchair slowly. "It's me, Alex. Your niece."

She took a seat in the chair opposite him and finally built up the courage to look at him. "I'm sorry it's been so long, but Derek and Laura and I were in New York, staying with one of Mom's old friends. I've missed you a lot, by the way. I didn't want to leave you behind, but Laura said it was better if you stayed here… she didn't want to cause you pain by having you moved." Tears sprung to Alex's eyes at the thought of her selfless sister. "L-Laura's dead. I think the hunters killed her... There's also an alpha in town that turned my old friend Scott into a wolf. He's not taken too kindly to the change, he's too easily angered, too impulsive. It's a wonder he's managed to survive this long." She paused, taking a deep breath as she stared at her Uncle. His head lolled to the side uncomfortably, jaw resting against his shoulder. She took his hand gently, running her thumb over the back of it.

"I wish you were still here," she admitted, wanting her Uncle back more than anything. "I miss our chess games, even though you would cheat, and our games of chase. Your legs were longer, so you always caught me before I really had a chance."

She stood abruptly, letting go of his hand, watching as it dropped back to his lap with a silent thud. She couldn't help but wince as she apologised silently for her actions. She leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead and squeezed his shoulder once before fleeing the room, not looking back at the shell of a man her favourite Uncle had become.

Alex was too busy focusing on escaping the suffocating atmosphere of the hospital that she didn't notice Stiles sitting in the waiting room, impatiently waiting for Scott to return to tell him if they had enough evidence to have Derek and Alex arrested for murder.

* * *

 **Wednesday, January 19th**

Alex woke up the next morning to Derek shaking her shoulder roughly and forcing her to get up. She stumbled slightly as she got to her feet and used her brother's arm to steady herself.

"What's goin' on?" she slurred tiredly.

"…The cops are here," he said flatly. She jerked awake at that, staring at him wide-eyed.

"What are you talking about?"

Derek glared in the direction of the doorway. "Your _friends_ called the cops on us. They're here to arrest us for Laura's murder."

"W-what? Stiles wouldn't do that." Alex shook her head, desperately wanting to believe that her oldest friend wouldn't just turn his back on her, not like this. Not when she had saved his life the other night.

"Alex, wake up would you?" Derek snapped. "He doesn't care about you. All he cares about is Scott and making sure we don't interfere."

Alex had no time to respond before the door was kicked in and a group of armed deputies spilled into the room.

"Put your hands behind your backs," a young, brown haired male ordered, gun pointing right at them. "Derek and Alex Hale, you are under arrest on suspicion of the murder of Jane Doe."

Alex sent a panicked look up at her brother, who gave her a reassuring one in return, one that promised that he would get her out of it, even if he couldn't get himself out, which was the exact opposite of what she wanted, she didn't want him to sacrifice himself to save her, not when she'd already lost so much and he was all she had left in the world.

"Hey, be careful," Derek snapped when the cop tugged too hard on Alex's arm and she yelped in pain.

"Shut up, Hale," one of the older cops barked, handcuffing him as well.

As they were led out of the house, Alex's eyes snapped over to where Scott was leaning against Stiles' jeep and gave him a wounded look, wondering why he had done this to her and Derek. Scott simply looked down, not wanting to see her expression anymore, because guilt was already filling his stomach.

The two Hale siblings were soon guiding into the back seat of the Sheriff's car and the doors closed on them. Alex immediately shifted closer to Derek, seeking his comfort and protection.

"It's gonna be okay," Derek said quietly, looking down at her.

" _How? How_ is it gonna be okay?" she shot back, though her voice lacked any heat. "My ex best friends just got us arrested for a murder we didn't commit."

The driver's door opened suddenly, cutting Derek off and they both stiffened, glaring furiously as Stiles got in the car and faced them head on.

"You have some nerve being here," Alex growled, her glare growing stronger, even if she could barely stop tears from springing to her eyes.

"Alex, I'm sor-"

"Save it, _Stiles,_ " she spat his name out like it was poison and took pleasure in the way he flinched, as though her tone physically hurt him. She immediately turned away from him, paying no attention as he started questioning Derek. She was too busy staring down at the red and black plaid shirt she wore that fell to her mid thighs and covered the denim shorts, sports bra and tank top she was wearing.

"Alex… I _am_ sorry," Stiles whispered, right before he got yanked backwards out of the car by his dad, who slammed the door shut behind him.

"What are we gonna do?" she asked her brother quietly.

"Answer their questions," Derek answered as he looked down at her, wishing he could get her out of this. "You're only 16, they can't hold you for more than 24 hours."

"What about you?"

"I'll find a way to get myself out," he replied. "They can't keep me without any proof."

"Der, they found Laura's body on our property," Alex pointed out.

"They have no _real_ proof. They need something substantial like DNA before they can do more than keep me in a holding cell."

"I hope you're right," Alex mumbled as the Sheriff got in the car with a deputy and they began the drive to Beacon Hills' police station.

* * *

"Alexandria Hale," the Sheriff started, glancing across the table at her. "I wish I could say it's a pleasure to see you again, but given the circumstances, I'd say that's a lie."

Alex remained silent, simply favouring staring at her old friend's dad than actually talking at that moment. Sheriff Stilinski sighed and leaned forward, hands clasped on the cold metal table top.

"This'll all be easier if you cooperate, Alex," he told her. She raised an eyebrow in response, shifting on her chair until she was sitting with her legs folded under her and attempted to push her hair behind her ears before being reminded that she was handcuffed to the table.

"Why should I?" she asked bluntly.

"Because if we're gonna prove that you and your brother are innocent, we need cooperation."

"We didn't kill her," was all Alex said in response. The Sheriff sighed again, scrubbing a hand across his face.

"Where were you on the night of the murder?"

Alex's eyes met his and she could see the desperation behind his tired eyes. "We were driving into town."

"What time was that at?" he questioned.

"11:00pm… we had to stop at the gas station because Derek needed more gas and I was hungry," she explained simply. "Then we went to a convenience store near the Library to stock up on necessities. We got to our old house around midnight because I couldn't make up my mind about what I wanted to eat."

"Why did you come back to town?"

"Why do _you_ think we came back?" she countered, irritation beginning to rise in her stomach. "Think about it Sheriff, I left with two siblings and I came back with only one."

"…You were looking for Laura?"

"Yup. She left New York a week before we did and when she refused to answer her phone, Derek decided we had to come back and find her… we were worried about her."

"Alex, where is Laura?"

Alex immediately clammed up, refusing to say more until she saw Derek, which the Sheriff told her she couldn't because they couldn't afford the two siblings talking until after Derek had been questioned.

"Are you sure you won't tell me where Laura is?" he asked one more time before standing with a sigh as she ignored him, turning her head away. "I think this conversation is over."

The deputy with him nodded in agreement and uncuffed Alex from the table before securing them around her wrists again and leading her back to her cell.

* * *

 **Saturday, January 22nd**

Three days had passed since Alex and her brother had been arrested for Laura's murder and apparently, according to the deputy that liked making fun of the Hale siblings, the reason she hadn't been released after 24 hours was because seeing as they had found the top half of Laura on the Hale property, it gave them enough reason to keep both Alex and Derek locked up.

Alex felt utter relief when the door to her cell opened and she was finally told she was free to leave, along with her brother.

"Are you okay?" he asked upon seeing her. She barely managed to nod before she was tugged into a tight hug, his cheek resting on her head.

"I'm sorry for you being wrongly accused," Deputy Ryan spoke up as he took in the heart-warming sight. "I'm just glad it's all been sorted out now."

"So am I," Derek replied truthfully. He nodded once at the cop before winding an arm around Alex's shoulders and leading her from the station.

"Are you alright?" she questioned as she was guided across the parking lot towards the sidewalk. "I was worried about you."

"I'm fine, don't worry," he smirked lightly. "They didn't push you too much, did they?"

"No. Sheriff Stilinski just asked me some questions and then took me back to one of the holding cells."

Derek nodded in understanding as they walked slowly down the sidewalk in the direction of the high school. Alex glanced up at him is confusion, wondering why they were headed that way instead of back home.

"We still have to keep an eye on Scott," Derek explained.

Alex stiffened, her eyes flashing and she let out a low growl. " _What?_ "

"If he exposes himself, he exposes us."

" _Fine._ But don't expect me to like it," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. Her brother rolled his eyes and shook her gently.

"Don't be such a baby," he scolded.

"Whatever." She was more than grateful that the game was just finishing when they arrived, at least they wouldn't have to wait too long.

As Derek stood on the field, his back to the woods, Alex squeezed his hand before disappearing, keeping to the shadows as she darted around the field and slipped inside the school, going straight for the locker room in search of Scott and Stiles. She wanted a word with them both.

"The medical examiner looked at the other half of the body we found," she heard Stiles say as she rounded the corner and stopped in the doorway.

"And?" Scott asked, gesturing for him to continue.

"Well, I'll keep it simple. Medical examiner determines killer of girl to be animal, not human," Stiles started with a sigh. "Derek and Alex are human, not animals. Derek and Alex not killers. Derek and Alex let out of jail."

"Are you _kidding?_ " Scott demanded.

Stiles shook his head twice. "No, and here's a _bigger_ kick in the ass. My dad ID'd the dead girl, both halves. It was Laura Hale."

" _Hale?_ " Scott repeated dumbly.

"Derek and Alex's older sister," Stiles confirmed.

"That's right, it was our sister," Alex said from the doorway causing both males to jump in surprise.

"Alex—"

"Don't bother, Stiles," she growled, arms crossed over her chest. "You know, I can't actually believe you two would turn on me like that. I thought we were friends… I guess I was wrong." She shook her head sadly.

"We _are_ friends," Stiles argued, staring at her.

"No, we aren't. Not after you dug up my sister's grave and then had me and my brother arrested for murder," she snapped and took a step away from Stiles. "And I want that wolf's bane back."

"Uh, why?" Scott asked.

"Because it's a sacred right, that's how we bury our dead," she explained shortly. "It's been a family tradition for centuries…"

"Really?" Stiles questioned eagerly. Alex blinked twice before remembering why she was still there.

"That's none of your business," she rumbled, her eyes flashing gold as a warning. "I want you two to stay away from me and brother and our house. If you come near me again, I'll rip your throats out… with my teeth."

With that said, she turned sharply on her heel and stormed out of the locker room, heading back onto the field. She passed a confused looking Jackson and waved at him as she walked, gaining a wave in return before she reached her brother and the two of them hopped over the fence surrounding the field and disappeared into the swirling mist covering the woods.


	5. Chapter 4 - Pack Mentality

_**Flashback =**_

 _ **Alex & Cora - 5 years old**_

 _ **Derek - 11 years old**_

 _ **Peter - 23 years old**_

 _ **Laura - 14 years old**_

* * *

 ** _March 4th, 1999_**

 ** _Beacon Hills, California_**

 _"Uncle Peter!" a five year old Alex called loudly, tripping over her shoelaces and landing in a heap at her uncle's feet._

 _"You little munchkin," Peter sighed, leaning down and picking her up. She grinned toothily up at him in response as he settled her on his hip. "Why are you running in the house?"_

 _"Der-Bear is chasin' me," she huffed, sticking her tongue out._

 _"Why?" Peter asked, feigning curiosity._

 _Alex's cheerful expression was soon replaced by a guilty look and her cheeks flushed deeply as she looked away. Peter rolled his eyes and hooked a finger under her chin, drawing her back to face him._

 _"Lex, what did you do?"_

 _"I… I pushed Derek into the creek and… and his friends laughed and now he's mad at me," she admitted, tears clouding up her eyes. She buried her face in his shoulder and struggled to hold in a sob._

 _"Hey. Hey, don't cry. It's okay," he whispered soothingly as he stroked her messy hair. "He's not gonna be mad at you for long."_

 _Peter moved over to the couch and sat down with her on his lap. Alex sighed, curling into a ball against his chest and reaching out to play with his triskele charm, running her small fingers over the cool gold and rough leather cord. The sudden sound of pounding footsteps startled Alex, causing her to jump in surprise before burrowing deeper into Peter's comforting warmth._

 _"Hello, Derek," Peter greeted calmly, looking over at his nephew as he rubbed Alex's back._

 _Derek nodded in response, his attention jumping straight to Alex and he frowned, his anger morphing into worry as he took in her shaking form and listened to the sound of her racing heartbeat._

 _"What's wrong with her?" he asked as he took a step closer. "Is she okay?"_

 _"She thinks you're angry at her," Peter explained, still rubbing her back._

 _Derek sighed softly and sat beside them, reaching out and tugging lightly at a lock of Alex's curly hair. His younger sister hesitantly turned her head and peeked up at him, her hazel-green eyes gleaming with unshed tears._

 _"I'm not mad at you, Lex," he told her truthfully, "I'm mad at my friends for laughing."_

 _"Really?" she asked in a small voice._

 _Derek nodded immediately and flicked her nose gently, gaining a giggle from Alex. "Of course I'm not mad at you. How could I be when you have such a cute face?"_

 _Alex huffed but unwrapped her arms from around Peter's neck and made grabby hands at her brother until he lifted her up and set her on the arm of the chair next to him. She set her feet on his thigh and started running her fingers through his messy hair as he turned to look at Peter._

 _"Hey, Uncle P, wanna play a game of chess?" Derek asked curiously._

 _"Sure, why not?" Peter shrugged and stood up, walking across the room and picking up the chessboard and pieces from the bookshelf and heading back to them._

 _Ten minutes and three chess games later, the rest of the Hale Pack reappeared and gathered around to watch the fourth game. Talia wore a proud smile on her face as she watched her brother and two younger children focus completely on the game. Peter and Derek were sitting Indian-style on the ground and Alex was standing up, draped over Derek's back with her arms hanging over his shoulders. Laura left the room for a few minutes—with Cora trailing after her like a lost puppy—before returning with a camera and handing it to her mom. Talia's smile widened as she took the offered camera and snapped a quick photo of the three of them. Her husband walked over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders and all she could feel was happy that her pack were all together._

* * *

 **Monday, January 24th**

When Derek woke up on Monday morning, it was to the sound of music playing loudly from an Ipod in the living room and the slightly unsteady beating of Alex's heart. He sighed deeply before pushing himself off of the mattress on the floor and running a hand through his messy hair as he left his room and made his way down the unsteady staircase.

Alex was doing press ups in the middle of the room when she felt her brother's presence behind her. She glanced back at him before going back to working out.

"Alex, its 5am. What are you doing up?" Derek asked, voice still gruff from sleep.

"Couldn't sleep," she answered shortly and moved her left arm behind her back as she used her right arm to do push ups. She did that for a couple of minutes before switching arms—she needed to build up strength in both arms, not just one.

"Why not?"

She hesitated briefly before turning her head to look at him. "I had another dream-memory thing."

"Alex." Anger welled up in her stomach at the hint of disapproval in Derek's voice as she moved back to using both arms. When she refused to answer, Derek rolled his eyes and proceeded to kick Alex's arms out from under her, sending her crashing to the floor.

"What the hell was that for?" she growled, jumping to her feet and glaring at him, arms crossed tightly over her chest.

"You need to stop making yourself have dreams like that," he said sternly. "You know what Laura told you."

"Yeah, well, Laura's not here, is she?" Alex snapped, a sneer on her lips. Silence filled the air as Derek stared at her, his jaw clenching in anger. Alex paled rapidly the moment she realised what she'd just said, horror flashed across her face as she covered her mouth." D-Derek. I'm sorry, I didn't—"

"Go get ready for school," Derek interrupted coldly, turning away from her. Alex flinched at his tone of voice and her inner wolf started whining pitifully as it lay down and buried its head in its large paws.

She reluctantly did as he said, gathering her Ipod and sneakers before heading up the stairs to get a towel and clothes before making the trip down the path to the creek.

* * *

Alex let out a soft sigh, tossing her jacket into her locker before taking out her Chemistry folder and slamming the door shut. She let out a startled noise of protest as two pairs of hands grabbed her arms and Scott and Stiles pulled her down the hallway after them.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked, irritated at their sudden need to grab her.

"We need help finding Allison," Stiles replied urgently.

"… _Why?_ " she queried in confusion.

"Because I had a dream last night and I attacked her in it," Scott explained from her left.

"Fine, I'll help you. But that doesn't mean I forgive you."

"Understood." Stiles nodded and turned back to Scott. "You know, I think you're handling this pretty amazingly. It's not like there's a Lycanthropy for Beginners class."

"Yeah, not a class… but maybe a teacher," Scott hinted, glancing towards Alex and smiling slightly as she snorted and rolled her eyes in response.

"Who, Derek?" Stiles exclaimed, hitting Scott on the back of his head.

"Or Alex," Scott pointed out.

"Are you forgetting the part where we got them tossed into jail?"

"Well, I certainly _haven't_ forgotten," Alex input, glaring at the two males.

"I haven't forgotten either," Scott said defensively. "But chasing her, dragging her to the back of the bus… it felt so real."

"How real?" Stiles questioned. Alex felt concerned at Scott's worried look as she continued to walk in between them.

"Like it _actually_ happened," Scott sighed and pushed the double doors leading outside open.

Alex's eyes widened in horror at the state of the bus in front of her—blood covered almost every inch of the back end of the bus and the seats inside it, the door was curled in on itself and hanging on by the hinges.

"I think it did," Stiles gasped out, swallowing deeply in shock.

"Scott. Scott, _calm down,_ " Alex ordered, hurrying after them as they rushed back into the school.

"How can I calm down?" he asked, frantically looking around for Allison whilst texting her at the same time. "She's not answering my texts!"

"It could just be a coincidence, all right?" Stiles said reassuringly.

"Just help me find her, okay?" Scott begged, breathing heavily.

The longer he went without finding Allison, the heavier Scott's breathing got and the faster his heart raced… and the more worried Alex got, thinking that he was minutes from shifting.

Alex and Stiles watched on in concern as Scott braced his hands against a locker, trying to stay in control. He let out an angry yell and punched a large dent into the locker, causing the door to break and swing open. The newly bitten wolf backed away from it in shock and Alex followed, shouting a goodbye to Stiles over her shoulder as she darted around the corner and skidded to a stop when she found Scott crouching down to help a very _alive,_ very _surprised_ Allison pick up her fallen books. Alex let out a sigh of relief and proceeded to wait for her friend so they could walk to class together.

* * *

The day had passed surprisingly quickly and Alex and Allison were in their final class before lunch. Alex was too busy thinking of a way to apologise to Derek for what happened this morning and talking to Allison about her upcoming date with Scott.

"So, have you and Scott decided on where you're going for your date?" Alex whispered to Allison as the teacher continued writing on the board.

"Not really," Allison admitted with a shrug, jotting down notes in her notepad. "I was gonna ask him at lunch."

"I'm sure you'll find something fun to do," Alex said reassuringly.

"I hope so," her friend sighed, tucking hair behind her ear. "I want this date to be better than the last one… hopefully he won't run out on me again."

"Don't worry ab—"

"Miss Hale!" the teacher interrupted loudly, turning to glance at the guilty looking teenager. "I believe it would be better for you and Miss Argent to spend some time apart. Please move over to beside Erica."

Alex huffed in irritation but did as the Chemistry teacher had ordered, collecting her stuff and muttering a quiet 'goodbye' to Allison before moving across the room to sit beside Erica, a girl with warm brown eyes and bushy blonde hair tied back in a ponytail.

"Hey, I'm Alex," she whispered to the blonde as soon as she no longer had the teacher's attention on her.

"Erica," the other girl replied quietly, hesitantly.

"It's nice to meet you." Alex nodded politely, smiling at Erica. The blonde returned the smile warily, eyes dropping back down to her book.

About ten minutes passed when the salty smell of tears entered Alex's nose and she glanced to the side to find Erica trying to subtly wipe away tears.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked in concern, resting a hand on the girl's arm.

" _God, she's such a freak,_ " the girl in front of them whispered to her friend, though both Alex and Erica could hear her.

" _I couldn't agree more. I don't know why Alex is talking to her when she's friends with Lydia Martin,_ " the other girl replied.

"Don't listen to them, Erica," Alex told Erica, moving her hand under the table to squeeze her hand. "You're not a freak."

" _It doesn't really matter, as soon as she finds out Erica is a loser, she won't speak to her anymore,_ " the red head said confidently.

Fury reared its ugly head in Alex's stomach and she let out a quiet growl, her eyes flashing golden yellow and back to hazel green in a matter of seconds. A smirk crossed her face as an idea hit her and she turned to Erica.

"Watch this," she whispered before pushing her pencil off of the desk so it landed at the two girls' feet. Erica did as she was told, watching curiously as Alex stealthily slipped out of her seat and crouched down, reaching forward and carefully untying the girls' shoelaces before taking a lace from each shoe and tying them together in a tight knot. She grabbed her pencil and reclaimed her seat, grinning proudly as Erica giggled quietly at her actions.

When the class finally ended, Alex and Erica packed their things away and sat patiently at the table, watching as the two girls in front of them stood up and attempted to leave the room when they suddenly lost their balance and tumbled to the floor.

The entire class burst out laughing as they realized the shoelaces had been tied together to trip them up on purpose. Allison was chuckling in amusement as she approached Alex's new table.

"That was a good prank, Alex," she congratulated her friend with a smile.

"They were bullying Erica, I did what I had to do," Alex replied with a shrug.

"Hey Erica," Allison greeted, turning to the blonde.

"H-hey Allison," Erica returned, a look of surprise on her face.

"D'you wanna sit with us?" Allison offered, much to Erica's shock and Alex's relief—if Allison hadn't asked her, Alex would've.

"Are you sure? I can just sit by myself," Erica said shyly. Alex shook her head quickly, tossing an arm around the blonde's shoulders.

"Of course we don't mind," she assured the girl and Allison quickly agreed. "And if Lydia says anything about it, she'll have me to deal with."

Erica swallowed nervously at that but allowed the two dark haired girls to usher her out of the room and into the busy hallway, heading straight for the cafeteria.

* * *

"Alex! Allison!" Lydia called loudly from the lunch queue, gesturing for them to join her. The two girls waved at their friend and made their way over to her, Alex making sure to keep a secure grip on Erica's hand so as to not lose her in the crowd.

"Hey Lydia," Allison smiled before gesturing to Erica. "This is Erica, she's in our Chemistry class."

Lydia pursed her lips, looking Erica up and down. "Pleasure, I'm sure," she said finally, choosing not to be _too_ rude as she caught sight of Alex's warning look. She then turned to start a conversation with her two best friends. "Alex, I was gonna ask what's going on with you today."

"What do you mean?" Alex frowned, she had no clue what gave Lydia the idea that something was up with her.

"You've been acting strange all morning," Lydia pointed out.

"It's nothing," Alex sighed, hoisting the strap of her shoulder bag higher up. "Honest," she said defensively at their looks of disbelief, even Erica looked as though she didn't believe her.

"You don't need to lie, Alex," Allison told her softly, "you can tell us anything."

"My brother's mad at me," she admitted finally, "and I'm mad at Scott and Stiles… sort of… mainly Scott."

"Why is your brother mad?" Lydia queried.

"Because I said something I shouldn't have—his anger is completely justified."

Lydia nodded, humming thoughtfully. "And why are you mad at Scott and… _Stiles_ , was it?"

"Because they are _idiots,_ " she snorted, stepping forward with the other three girls as the line in front of them moved.

"Scott's not that bad," Allison told her, immediately defending her boyfriend.

"You have to say that, he's your lover boy." Alex nudged the older girl with a teasing grin, causing Lydia and Erica to chuckle in amusement.

She turned her attention to the food in front of them and chose a Caesar salad with chicken strips, a can of diet soda and an orange. Lydia made a similar choice but with water and an apple whereas both Allison and Erica went for a garden salad with dressing, a piece of fruit and flavoured water.

Lydia then led the three girls—along with the rest of their group, who merely glanced at Erica curiously but said nothing—past their usual table and over to Scott and Stiles' one instead.

"—figure it out," Stiles finished saying just as Lydia set her tray down beside Scott.

"Figure what out?" the strawberry blonde asked as she sat down.

"Uh… homework?" the two boys offered pathetically.

Alex rolled her eyes and took the seat on Stiles' right as Amelia—a girl from the cheerleading squad who had arranged to have Alex try out for the team the next day—sat down on his left. Erica sat down in between Alex and Danny and offered the Lacrosse goalie a shy smile that he returned with a wide grin, attempting to make the shy girl feel at ease amongst their group. Allison sat on Scott's right as Greenburg sat at the head of the table in between Lydia and Danny. Jackson walked up moments later and stood beside Greenburg.

"Get up," the Lacrosse captain ordered.

"How come you never ask Danny to get up?" Greenburg huffed.

Danny snorted before saying, "Because _I_ don't stare at his girlfriend's coin-slot."

Alex let out an amused chuckle, grinning at Allison before sharing a glance with Stiles and offering him the same grin. Greenburg scowled at Alex but moved to sit at the other end of the table.

"So, I hear they're saying it's some type of animal attack—probably a cougar," Danny said to break the awkward silence.

"I heard mountain lion," Jackson replied.

"A cougar is a mountain lion," Lydia input before realizing her mistake and adding dumbly, "isn't it?"

"Yes Lydia, it is." Alex rolled her eyes, wondering why the closet genius insisted on playing the role of the star athlete's brain-dead girlfriend when she was one of the smartest people in the whole school.

"Who cares?" Jackson shrugged off Lydia's momentary lapse in stupidity. "The guy's probably some homeless tweaker who's gonna die anyway."

Alex frowned at the sandy haired male's lack of empathy towards the man who was attacked and swallowed her mouthful of salad, turning on him. "Wow, Jackson, I didn't know you could be so heartless." She scoffed in disbelief as he had the audacity to roll his eyes and glare at her after what he had said. She turned her attention to Erica and asked the blonde if she was okay, gaining a nod in response as Stiles showed the group a video of his phone about the man who was attacked.

"Can we talk about something slightly more fun?" Lydia interrupted, regaining Alex's attention. "Like… oh where are we going tomorrow night?"

Allison and Scott both turned to her in shock and Alex _almost_ felt sorry for them, but the entire situation was just too funny.

"You said you and Scott were hanging out tomorrow night," Lydia reminded Allison.

"We, uh, we were thinking of what we were gonna do," Allison replied weakly.

"Well, I am not sitting at home _again_ to watch lacrosse videos," Lydia started. Alex held back a snicker as Stiles and Erica both raised eyebrows at her as if to say, 'can you _believe_ this?' and she shrugged carelessly. "So, if the four of us—plus Alex and her date when she finds one—are hanging out, I wanna do something fun," Lydia finished.

Alex's face fell at Lydia's exclamation and she gaped at the girl in shock. "Whoa, hold up! I _did not_ agree to this!"

"H-hanging out?" Scott stuttered, sharing Alex's disbelief as Lydia shot her friend a 'shut up and go along with it' look. "Like the five or six of us?" He turned to Allison. "Do you wanna hang out, like… _us_ and _them?_ "

Allison nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I guess. It sounds fun."

"You know what else sounds fun?" Jackson asked, picking up his fork. "Stabbing myself in the face with this fork."

"I second that idea," Alex agreed eagerly, nodding her head and ignoring Stiles, Erica, Danny, Greenburg and Amelia as they tried to hold in laughter at her, Scott and Allison's expense.

"How about bowling?" Lydia suggested. "You _love_ to bowl."

"Yeah, with actual competition," Jackson retorted.

"How do you know we're not actual competition?" Allison challenged, irritated at Jackson as she looked to Scott for help. "You can bowl, right?"

"Sort of?" Scott answered hesitantly.

"Is it _sort of_ or _yes?_ " Jackson asked mockingly.

" _Yes._ In fact, I'm a great bowler," Scott stated. Alex didn't need to be a werewolf to know that Scott was lying.

"What about you, Alex?" Allison smiled at the she-wolf.

"I have never been bowling in my life," she answered truthfully.

"We'll help you," Lydia promised, grinning widely.

The rest of lunch passed quickly with Lydia telling Alex to meet her and Allison by her car after school so they could go clothes shopping for the date the following night. The strawberry blonde even went as far to extend the invitation to Erica, who agreed eagerly when she realised that Lydia was being genuine and it wasn't some attempt at a joke that would humiliate her.

* * *

The only thing Alex wanted to do after school ended was go home and apologise to Derek, but Lydia had other ideas as she cornered Alex, grabbing her arm tightly and dragging her outside to her car with Allison and Erica following them silently.

"Lydia, as much as I would _love_ to go out shopping with you three, I need to speak to my brother," Alex pointed out as she was all but shoved into the fancy car.

Lydia pursed her glossy lips, glaring at Alex. "That can wait. _Shopping_ can't."

And that was the end of that conversation. Alex rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest as the other three girls climbed into the car and they set off, exiting the parking lot and turning right, heading towards the centre of town where the shopping mall was. She whipped her phone out and opened up her contacts list, selecting Stiles name before sending him a quick text.

 **Alex Hale: Hey, I've decided what you can do to repay me for getting me arrested!**

She waited for a few minutes, biting her thumb nail until he replied.

 **Stiles (Batman) Stilinski: C'mon Alex! I said I was sorry… what do you want anyway?**

Alex grinned in amusement, she could practically hear him whining through the phone.

 **Alex Hale: Come with me to bowling tomorrow night? I don't wanna be a fifth wheel!**

 **Stiles (Batman) Stilinski: Fine. I guess I could if it means you'll forgive me?**

 **Alex Hale: You'll just have to wait and see, won't you? ;)**

Locking her phone, she put it back on her pocket and got comfortable, knowing it was gonna be a long ride.

* * *

 ** _(3 hours later)_**

"How much longer?" Alex grumbled as Lydia dragged them into yet another store—this time it was Macy's.

"Suck it up, Alex," Lydia scolded as she headed to a rack on the left side of the store and picked up an above the knee, navy blue, sleeveless tank dress with small white patterns on it and held it against Alex. She nodded thoughtfully. "This is definitely for you."

"It would definitely suit you," Allison agreed.

When Alex turned to Erica for an opinion, the blonde shrugged, not knowing what she was supposed to say, so she settled for a simple, "I agree with them, the colour would look nice on you."

"That is an _expensive_ dress," Alex said in disbelief, glancing at the price tag.

"Which is why I'm buying it for you," Lydia explained. Alex's eyebrows shot up at her words.

"I can't let you do that, Lyd," she argued, "I could get two dresses for that price."

"You _are_ getting the dress," Lydia argued right back.

"No. No, no," she protested, trying to put the dress back on the rack, but Lydia quickly stepped between her and the rack and stayed there until Alex finally agreed to try it on.

A denim jacket with ¾ length sleeves, a black blazer, a couple pairs of leggings and a few cami tops in different colours and styles were also added to the pile in Alex's arms.

"Right, to the dressing rooms," Lydia ordered as soon as she was satisfied with her choices for Alex.

"What about clothes for you?" Alex asked, confused.

"Erica, Allison and I will get them after you've tried yours on."

Alex sighed, feet aching and stomach growling as she was forced into the changing room and the curtain was roughly drawn closed, giving her some privacy to try each article of clothing on and then model them for her friends.

In the end, Lydia talked Alex into letting her pay for everything, saying that her dad had given her his credit card in an attempt to please his only daughter. The strawberry blonde also decided on paying for Erica and Allison as well to get back at her dad for trying to buy her love by giving her free reign of the credit card.

After they finished clothes shopping, they went on to shoe shopping and then finally make up/beauty product shopping.

By the time the four of them left the mall, Alex was being weighed down by bags full of clothes, two new pairs of shoes, some make up and perfume and hair products. If Derek found out how much she'd gotten he'd be furious, he had told her that they wouldn't be staying in Beacon Hills permanently, that they'd be going back to Brooklyn before summer vacation started and he wouldn't want shopping bags blocking up his car, but truth be told, she didn't want to leave now, not after she'd gotten new friends and finally fit in somewhere.

Her phone beeping gained her attention and she struggled to get it out of her pocket, but when she did, she discovered she had a text from Derek.

 **Derek (Brother-Bear): I'm in the parking garage, hurry up.**

Alex frowned, about to ask herself how he knew she was at the mall, before remembering that he would've used his sense of smell and hearing to track her down. She rolled her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that day and sent a quick text back.

 **Alex Hale: I'm just coming, hold on a sec! :)**

"I gotta go," she said, turning to her friends, interrupting their conversation. "Derek's waiting for me."

"Who's Derek?" Lydia asked, suddenly more alert as she looked at Alex expectantly.

"He's my brother," she explained and pointed to the black Camaro sitting a few spaces away from Lydia's car. Her brother was leaning against the trunk of the car, waiting patiently for Alex to say goodbye to her friends.

"He's hot," Lydia said appreciatively, unaware that Derek could hear her and her words were the reason why a smirk crossed his face.

"He's also _incredibly_ full of himself," Alex scowled over at him, watching as his expression morphed into smug satisfaction.

"Hey, uh, Alex…" Erica trailed off hesitantly, glancing at the dark haired girl.

"What is it?"

"Would your brother mind giving me a ride home?" she asked hopefully, feeling more comfortable around Alex than she did with Allison and Lydia.

"Of course he wouldn't," Alex smiled, bidding her other two friends a goodbye and promising to meet them at the bowling alley tomorrow night before leading Erica over to Derek. "Hey Der, is it okay if Erica gets a ride?"

"Sure. Just put your bags in the trunk and hop in," he replied smoothly, his smirk deepening as Erica's pulse jumped when he brushed past her to get to the driver's seat.

* * *

After dropping Erica off, the two Hale siblings drove back to their house in silence. Alex had gotten out of the car first and hurried inside to put her shopping bags in her room. After she'd done that, she wandered across the hall to Derek's room. She paused briefly in the doorway before crossing the room and hugging him from behind, resting her head on his back.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, voice muffled by his leather jacket. "I shouldn't have said what I did."

"I don't want you talking about Laura like that again," he said finally, setting his hand over hers and intertwining their fingers.

"I won't. I _swear,_ " she promised quickly.

They stood there silently for a few minutes before Derek stiffened and informed her that Scott was outside. He led the way down the stairs and out onto the front porch before leaning back and closing the door behind Alex.

"I know I had a part to play in you two getting arrested," Scott started, a semi-guilty look covering his face, "and that I basically announced you guys to the hunters… I also _don't_ know what happened to your sister, but I think I did something last night."

Alex glanced up at Derek to find him watching Scott stoically, not a single emotion getting past his stone cold mask.

"I had a dream last night about someone," Scott continued, glancing down briefly. "But someone else got hurt and it turns out that part of the dream might have actually happened."

"You think you attacked the driver?" Derek responded finally.

"Did you _see_ what I did last night?" Scott demanded.

"He didn't, but I did," Alex interrupted, turning to Derek. "It was like a scene from a horror movie or something."

"Can you tell me the truth?" Scott asked her desperately. "Am I gonna hurt someone?"

Alex's eyes flickered to Derek hesitantly, wondering if she was allowed to tell him. When her brother nodded once, she turned back to the other male wolf. "Probably, _yes_."

"Could I kill someone?"

"Yes, you could," she replied honestly, feeling pity for Scott as he looked distressed by her words.

" _Am_ I going to kill someone?"

"Probably." Derek took over for Alex, sensing her discomfort. He shared in her pity as he followed Scott across the porch. "Look, I can show you how to remember. I can show you how to control the shift, _even_ on the full moon… but it's not gonna come for free."

"What do you want?" Scott asked hopelessly.

"You'll find out eventually," Derek said vaguely. "But for now, I'll give _you_ what you want. Go back to the bus. Go inside. _See_ it. _Feel_ it. Let your senses, your sight, smell, touch, let them remember for you."

"That's it?" Scott asked in disbelief, glancing between the siblings. "Just go back?"

"Do you wanna know what happened?" Derek countered.

"I just wanna know if I hurt him," Scott replied, though his heart skipping a beat gave away his white lie.

"We all know that's not true," Alex pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "You want to know if you'll hurt Allison."

* * *

When Scott finally left, Derek went out and got a large pepperoni pizza with extra cheese and two diet sodas. Alex had been in charge of getting out the paper plates her brother had bought a couple of days ago as well as two plastic cups.

The siblings were now sitting on the back porch, side-by-side, watching the stars silently as they ate. Alex was deep in thought remembering a time when it was the whole family that would stargaze, not just two of them—it had been one thing the family always did together, along with going on runs through the woods and playing board games.

It made her sad to think that the once mighty Hale pack had been reduced to nothing, to just _two_ betas who no longer had a pack or an Alpha, who just had each other left in the world. Derek reached out to her, as if knowing that her thoughts were headed down a dark path and drew her to him until she rested against his side with his arm over her shoulders.

"I'm going bowling tomorrow night," she said, offhandedly after finishing her second slice of pizza.

Derek stared down at her, a typical frown on his face. "Why would you be doing that?"

"Because Lydia wouldn't take no for an answer… and because I've never been bowling before, I wanna give it a try." She shrugged, picking at a loose thread on her dress.

"Alright," he said simply, deciding not to tell her she wasn't allowed to go when he caught sight of her hopeful face. "I'll pick you up afterwards." Alex smiled and jumped up happily as he asked her to help him tidy up their rubbish. She grabbed the empty box as Derek picked up their plates and cups before following her into the house, kicking the door closed behind him.

After tidying up, the two of them ventured upstairs, Derek going into his room and replacing his jeans with sweatpants and a plain white t-shirt as Alex went to her room to change into a pair of pajama pants and a tank top and zip up hoodie before making her way to her brother's room and raising her arm, catching the book he threw to her before it hit her in the face. He selected a book for himself from his duffel bag and joined her on the mattress, lying on his back and holding the book above his head so he could read it. Alex pulled her large comforter over both of them, curling up onto her side and opening the book to the page she'd left off at.

* * *

 **Tuesday, January 25th**

The next night, Derek dropped Alex off at Lydia's house with a promise that he'd see her later before driving away. Lydia then helped Alex pick an outfit from the clothes she'd gotten yesterday and waited until she'd changed before pulling her down the stairs and outside to her car so they could head over to Allison's house.

When they arrived at the Argent household, Alex's nerves were through the roof, and each step towards the front door felt like a step closer to a death sentence. Lydia rang the doorbell quickly, unaware of her friend's inner turmoil.

The door was answered by none other than Chris Argent. The hunter hadn't changed much in the past six years, but he was still just as handsome as before… and Lydia clearly thought so too with the way she was ogling the older man.

"Hello, Lydia, right?" Chris asked, holding the door open for them to come in.

"Nice to meet you, Mr Argent," Lydia chirped and headed straight for the stairs, carrying two bags—one full of makeup and the other with her hair curling tongs in it.

Alex entered the house hesitantly, looking as timid as a mouse. A heavy arm settling around her shoulders had her stiffening immediately in panic as the breath caught in her throat.

"I was wondering when I would be seeing you, _Alexandria,_ " Chris said quietly, his narrowed eyes pinning her to the spot. "What I don't know is _why_ you would willingly walk into the lion's den?"

"You don't scare me," she replied, surprised by the strength in her voice.

"Why are you here?"

"Because Lydia and Allison are my _friends,_ " she explained fiercely. She returned his gaze with fire burning in her hazel green eyes. "You've been trained to understand a wolf's behaviour and characteristics your entire life, so you'll know that we protect those we deem pack with our whole lives… and that includes both _wolf_ and _human_ pack mates."

"You consider Allison to be pack?" he asked, surprised, though she could detect a hint of worry in his voice.

"And Lydia too," Alex agreed. "The point is, I _will_ protect Allison and you have my word that no harm will come to her as long as I'm around. My inner wolf won't allow it."

Chris hesitated, not liking the idea of having a werewolf—his sworn enemy—hanging around his daughter, but knowing she'd be safer having the young beta as a friend, especially with a rogue alpha on the loose and nodded once and released her, heading for the kitchen. Alex breathed a sigh of relief and darted up the stairs, following the voices until she found Allison's room.

"What about this?" Allison held up a black and brown top. Lydia immediately pursed her lips and shook her head.

"Pass."

"Alex?" Allison turned to her for an opinion too.

"I agree with Lydia." Alex shrugged, going back to applying the last of her eyeliner. She'd already gotten approval from Allison on her outfit as well as Lydia's and was now applying makeup given to her courtesy of Lydia. Her outfit consisted of a red wine coloured camisole top, a pair of leggings, lace up, high heeled booties and her denim jacket.

Allison sighed and put the top back, exchanging it for a green and orange monstrosity that had both Alex and Lydia cringing, repulsed by the bright article of clothing.

"Pass," they said in unison before sharing an amused giggle.

Lydia jumped up and strolled over to the closet as Alex finished with her makeup and stuck it back into the makeup bag on Allison's vanity table.

"Pass on all of it," Lydia declared, looking through the clothes. "God, Allison, respect for your taste is _dwindling_ by the second."

Alex snorted in amusement and held her hands up in surrender as Allison sent her a mock-glare. The strawberry blonde rolled her eyes at them before turning her attention back to the closet and pulling out a pretty black top with sequins on it, passing it to Allison, who walked over to the mirror with it and held it against her, nodding in approval.

"That will do," Lydia told Allison as she got to work on curling Alex's hair. The door opened seconds later and in walked Chris. The older man was busy brushing dirt off the sleeve of his jacket as he walked further into the room.

"Dad, hello?" Allison asked, eyebrows raised.

Chris smiled, looking up from where he was starting to tug his jacket on. He paused at the look of frustration on his only daughter's face and sighed, remembering the number one rule; always knock first before entering. "Right, sorry. I forgot to knock."

"Hey, Mr Argent," Lydia greeted as she finished styling Alex's hair and pinning it back before flopping onto the bed and making what appeared to be a seductive pose. Chris nodded politely at Lydia before turning back to Allison.

"Dad, d'you need something?" Allison asked, eager to kick him out and get back to her friends.

"I wanted to tell you that you'll be staying in tonight," Chris replied.

"But I'm going out with friends tonight," Allison argued.

"No. Not when some animal is out there attacking people," he disagreed. He shared a mutual look of understanding with Alex.

"Dad! Dad, I—" Allison started, only to be cut off as he raised a hand to silence her.

"Its outta my hands," Chris explained calmly, "there's a curfew—no one's allowed out past 9:30pm."

"Somebody's daddy's little girl," Lydia teased as soon as Chris left the room, closing the door behind him.

Alex rolled her eyes, gathering up her stuff and looking over at them. "So, what are we gonna do? The guys are waiting for us."

"Oh, we're still going," Allison assured her, pulling on a dark purple beanie hat. "I'm not gonna be daddy's little girl tonight." She walked over to her window and opened it, glancing around before climbing out onto the roof. She did a quick front flip and landed on the grass. "Eight years gymnastics," she explained to a confused Lydia. "You two coming?"

"I'll just take the stairs," Lydia replied quickly, disappearing from sight.

"Alex?" Allison prompted.

"Eh, why not?" she grinned, her inner wolf running in circles in excitement at the thought of showing off to her human pack-sister. She climbed out of the window and onto the roof, doing a quick backflip instead of a front one. "I did some gymnastics in Brooklyn, but I preferred cheerleading," she told Allison as she strolled over to her.

"It's a good thing you got on the team then," Allison smiled, impressed at Alex's backflip.

"I really thought Dana was gonna say no, but most of the cheerleaders were impressed with my routine," she admitted sheepishly.

"I'm not surprised, it was amazing!" Lydia said when she finally joined them. "I didn't know someone could bend that way."

"What can I say? I'm _extremely_ flexible." She wiggled her eyebrows playfully at them, gaining a bark of laughter from Allison and a grin from Lydia as they snuck across the yard to the car and climbed in before quickly driving away.

* * *

Scott, Stiles and Jackson were waiting outside by the time Lydia pulled into the parking lot and the two girls jumped out, heading straight for their respective boyfriends, leaving Alex to lock the car before walking over to Stiles and offering him an awkward smile.

"Hey Stiles," she greeted as they followed the couples inside.

"Hi, Alex," he replied quietly, taking in her outfit and makeup and hair. "You look pretty."

"Pretty?" Jackson scoffed as he walked back over to them and held an arm out to Alex. "She's smokin' hot," the sandy brown haired male corrected. Alex's ears burned at the compliments as she reached out and curled her fingers around the crook of Jackson's arm, allowing him to lead her over to Allison, Lydia and Scott who were at the counter getting shoes for everyone.

"Oh, and Stiles?" Alex called over her shoulder to him. His head snapped up and he stared at her wide-eyed. "I know I'm pretty." She smirked at him widely before turning away.

Stiles stood there for a few minutes, staring after her in shock. He didn't know what had happened to her during her time away but he couldn't help but like the new her—she was sassy and confident but she still had her fiercely protective nature… she'd also become rather beautiful; she could easily rival Lydia in that department.

"Come _on,_ Stiles," he muttered, shaking his head abruptly to clear his thoughts. "Focus on bowling, not Alex… _certainly_ not on how hot she looks in that top, or those skin tight leggings."

He let out a harsh breath and headed inside, his heart hammering against his ribcage as his eyes were drawn to Alex's smiling face as she spoke to Jackson and Lydia. She glanced over at him curiously, listening to the sound of his rapid heartbeat. He waved her off, causing her to frown but look away nonetheless.

* * *

"I suck at this," Alex pouted, watching as the bowling ball rolled down the gutter, yet again.

"Stiles," Allison said suddenly, gaining said boy's immediate attention. "Why don't you help her out?" she suggested brightly. "Show her what to do."

"Uh, wha—?" he stuttered. Alex brightened at the suggestion, something that Lydia noticed and she sat up quickly, looking completely alert.

"I agree, you should help her out," the strawberry blonde encouraged.

"Yes, good idea!" Alex hurried over and grabbed Stiles' hands, tugging him to his feet. "C'mon Stiles!"

Stiles followed without complaint, walking with her towards the lane. Alex now had a light pink ball in her hands as she turned to him expectantly.

"What do I do?" she asked, meeting his gaze.

"Here, turn slightly to the side," he swallowed, cheeks burning as he stepped up behind her, resting his hand over hers and drawing her right arm back before swinging it forward. The ball shot down the lane and… knocked all of the pins down.

"Whoo!" Lydia and Allison shouted and Scott and Jackson smiled in amusement as Alex let out a happy cheer, spinning around and throwing her arms around Stiles' neck, hugging him tightly. Scott went up next, selecting a dark blue ball and heading over to the lane.

"Hey, Stiles," she whispered after pulling away. "I'm gonna go get a drink, wanna come?"

"Sure," he smiled. The two of them told the others where they were going and as soon as Stiles walked ahead, Lydia grabbed Alex's arm, pulling her to a stop.

"Is there something going on between you two?" the strawberry blonde demanded.

"What?" Alex asked in confusion.

"Is there something between you and Stiles?" Allison clarified with a grin.

"B-between Stiles and I?" she choked out as she glanced between them in shock. "Absolutely _not._ He's one of my oldest friends!"

"But you two would make a cute couple," Lydia pouted.

"Even if I thought of him like that, he has a _major_ crush on someone else," Alex explained.

"We'll just have to show him what he's missing," Lydia replied, reaching out and readjusting Alex's top to show off more of her chest as Allison fluffed up her hair, watching in satisfaction as the dark curls cascaded over her shoulders to the top of her ribs. Lydia nodded in approval at her masterpiece. "Now, go get him, tiger."

Alex rolled her eyes but nodded and headed after Stiles, running a hand through her loose curls and brushing them over her shoulder.

* * *

"I thought you were still mad me?" Stiles said to break the awkward silence as they ate their food.

Alex sighed, she'd known this conversation was coming for a while, but it didn't make it any less uncomfortable. "I _was…_ I mean, I'm still annoyed but I'm not _mad_ anymore," she explained lightly. "You were just trying to protect Scott—as much as it hurts that you felt getting Derek and I arrested would help—and I understand, I do—he's your pack brother."

"Uh, no, he's not my pack brother. There's not pack-ness going on here," Stiles denied. "Besides, I'm human, not a werewolf."

"Stiles, you don't have to be a wolf to be pack," Alex told him softly. "Most of my family, my _pack_ were humans. The only wolves were my siblings and I and my mom and my uncle Peter."

Sensing her rapid decline in emotions, Stiles picked up a handful of curly fries and held them out to her. She paused thoughtfully before smiling and taking the offered food, shoving the fries into her mouth and chewing with vigour.

A sudden chime interrupted them and Alex pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket and unlocked it to see a text from Derek.

 **Derek (Brother-Bear): I'm outside. Hurry up.**

"That's Derek, I gotta go," she huffed.

"Oh, okay," Stiles nodded, trying to hide his disappointment.

"We can hang out again soon, right?" she asked, gathering her stuff.

"Yeah, sure," he agreed as he finished his fries and left some money on the table to cover both meals and the tip. "I'll walk you out," he offered, hands buried in his pockets.

"I had fun tonight," she told him honestly as they made the short walk to the door.

"Me too, your face was priceless when you finally knocked down the pins," Stiles chuckled. Alex grinned, nodding in agreement.

"I'll see you later," she said, hugging him quickly and hurrying outside to the Camaro.

"Yeah, see ya," he whispered as he turned around and left to find Scott and the others.

* * *

"Hey, Der, I'm just gonna go get a drink," Alex told her brother, who nodded and continued putting gas in the car.

Alex quickly went into the gas station and bought a couple of water bottles before heading back outside just as two large SUV's pulled up on either side of the Camaro, blocking it in.

"Derek?" she asked, a hint of fear in her voice as Chris Argent and two other hunters got out of the cars.

"Stay behind me," he ordered quietly. She nodded and moved behind him, clutching his jacket tightly.

"Nice ride," Chris called out, watching Derek as he put the nozzle away and glanced over at him. "Black cars though, are _very_ hard to keep clean. I would definitely suggest a little more maintenance." The hunter scrubbed at a spot of dirt on the otherwise spotless hood of the car. Alex nervously shifted closer to Derek as Chris began cleaning the windshield, glancing up at them every couple of seconds. "If you have something this nice, you want to take care of it, right?" Chris continued lightly. "Personally, I'm _very_ protective of the things that I love. But that's something I learned from my family," he paused and looked Derek in the eyes. "And you don't have much of that these days, do you?"

Alex let out a furious growl, her eyes turning golden yellow and her fangs and claws made an appearance, but before she could lunge at Chris, the other hunters grabbed her and slammed her—face down—onto the hood of their SUV.

"Settle down there, little lady," the taller of the two ordered as she struggled to free herself.

"Let her go," Derek rumbled, his wolf snarling and begging for a fight that he would easily win so he could free his pack-sister for the hunters' grasp. He clenched his fist in an attempt to prevent his claws from coming out. Letting out a deep breath, he uncurled his fingers to reveal normal, human nails.

"There we go," Chris smirked smugly, knowing that he'd gotten to Derek. "You can actually look through your windshield now. See how that makes everything so much clearer?"

As Chris walked away towards his car, Derek couldn't help but say, "You forgot to check the oil."

"Check the man's oil," Chris ordered and one of the hunters released her, walking over to the Camaro with a bat in his hand. He smashed one of the windows with the bat and Alex started struggling again, her eyes flashing between golden yellow and hazel green. ' _How_ dare _he do that to Sister Laura's old car?'_ her wolf snarled angrily, begging to be released to make them _pay._

"Son of a bitch," the hunter holding her cursed, releasing her in favour of clutching his nose after she gave into the wolf briefly and reared her head back, head butting him abruptly.

Derek lifted his arm just as Alex darted over and collided with him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Drive safely," Chris called as the three hunters climbed into their cars. The one with the bloody nose was still glaring at her as they drove away.

"Are you all right?" Derek asked urgently, turning her to face him. His eyes trailed over her face and stopped on her bloody forehead.

"I-I'm fine," she replied shakily, pressing a hand against her head. "I think they hit my head a little _too_ hard off of the car." She pulled her hand away to reveal a bloodstained palm.

"Come on, let's get you out of here." Derek pulled Alex around to the other side of the car, brushing the glass off of the passenger seat and helping her into the car.

* * *

After the run-in with the hunters, Alex told Derek she was going for a walk and left the house, wandering around the town aimlessly. She made sure to keep out of sight as she turned the medium sized disc with a triskele printed on both sides around in her hands. She soon found herself in front of a familiar house. She hesitated before going over to the tree outside of Stiles' room and climbed it after making sure that no one was watching. She reached out and tapped on the window repeatedly until the lamp suddenly turned on and Stiles appeared on the other side of the window, staring at her in shock.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, opening the window and stepping back to let her in.

"I-I don't know… I was walking and ended up here," she explained.

"Uh, okay…" Stiles trailed off, his eyes locking on the spot of blood on her forehead. "Is that _blood?_ "

"Crap. I thought I got it all," she sighed, but before she could do anything, Stiles pulled her over to the bed and made her sit down as he hurried to the bathroom to get a wash cloth.

"What happened to you?" Stiles questioned, wiping away the remaining blood.

"Hunters," she replied vaguely. When Stiles finished, she stood up and headed to his computer desk, picking up a picture frame of her, Scott, Stiles and her identical twin Cora when they were eight and dressed up for a Halloween party. "I didn't know you still had this."

"Uh, yeah, it's sat there since you left Beacon Hills," he explained awkwardly.

Alex nodded, turning the triskelion disk in her hands again as she crossed the room and sat on his bed. Stiles joined her moments later, staring down at her hands.

"What is that?" he asked curiously, gesturing to the disk.

"It was my uncle Peter's," she told him with a small frown. "It's belonged to my family for generations. It's what we used to gain control until we found an anchor."

"An anchor?" he repeated.

"Something that ties you to your humanity… that brings you back when you lose control."

"What's your anchor?"

"My pack," she replied honestly. "At least they _were._ Now? I'm not so sure. Sometimes... sometimes it's easy to shift back but other times... I have a hard time controlling it."

Stiles nodded in understanding, and reached out, gently pulling the disc from her fingers so he could look at it. Alex let him take it and turned to watch him as he ran his fingers over the cold, rough metal.

"D'you mind if I stay here tonight?" she asked hesitantly. "I don't wanna walk the whole way across town right now."

"Uh, sure," he agreed. "You can have the bed, I'll take the couch." When he went to stand up, Alex grabbed the back of his t-shirt, pulling him back down to the bed. Stiles let out a surprised noise, flailing his arms as he attempted to regain his balance. Alex then manhandled him until he was lying on his back on the right side of the bed before turning the lamp off and curling up against his side.

"First rule about being friends with a wolf," Alex started, burrowing her face into his warm neck and breathing in his scent, "we like to snuggle."

Stiles let out another surprised noise at her words but forced himself to relax as she moved even closer to him, pulling the covers over them and resting her palm flat on his chest, right over his heart.

All Stiles could think as Alex drifted off to sleep was _'how the hell has this become my life?'_


	6. Chapter 5 - A Day Away

**_'Happiness is... an unplanned first kiss.'_**

 ** _\- Unknown_**

* * *

 **Wednesday, 26** **th** **January**

 **Stilinski Household**

The next morning, when Alex awoke a second time, she was lying on her left side, facing the window with Stiles glued to her back, arms wrapped securely around her waist as he huddled into her unnaturally warm body. She let out a happy purr, huddling back into him and burying her face in his pillow.

"Hmm," Stiles moaned softly, slowly waking up from his deep slumber. He blinked blearily for a second before shooting awake when he realised who was in front of him and who he was currently _squeezing_ the life out of. "Crap, Alex!" he exclaimed, scrambling backwards and promptly falling out of bed.

"What are you _doing?_ " Alex growled down at him, eyes flashing golden yellow. "I was comfortable."

"What the hell are you doing in my bed?" he hissed quietly.

"I came over last night, remember?" She didn't bother waiting for a reply as she rolled over onto her stomach and rubbed her face into the pillow Stiles had been using.

"Alex, you need to get out of here before my dad finds you in here," Stiles told her, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"He already left, Stiles," she mumbled in response, feeling her eyelids droop sleepily. "About 30 minutes ago."

Stiles' eyes flickered over to his alarm clock and he immediately let out a curse and darted for the closet to get clothes.

"Alex, get up!" he barked as he realised she was still lying on the bed, hugging both of his pillows. "We're almost an hour late for school."

"Mhm, let's just skip," she hummed and opened her eyes, staring up at him.

"I can't! My dad will _kill_ me."

Alex sat up slightly, leaning on her elbows and levelled him with a firm glare. "If you don't get back in this bed, it won't be your dad you have to worry about because _I_ will be the one killing you."

Stiles hesitated, glancing between the she-wolf and the door before deciding not to risk facing her wrath and climbed back on the bed, lying beside her. "Are we seriously skipping right now?"

"Ugh. You know what? Go get dressed, we're going out." Alex rolled out of bed and tugged her shoes on before going to Stiles' closet and pulling out a pair of jeans, a white, short-sleeved turtle neck and his red hoodie before throwing them at him and pointing towards the door.

"Are you seriously picking out my clothes?" Stiles demanded, half amused, half surprised. "You're acting like a mama-wolf right now."

Alex just stared at him, unamused. "One, if you think _I'm_ acting like a mama-wolf, you should've seen my mom and two, if you don't hurry up, I'll _make_ you get dressed."

"…You are so like Derek, it is _unreal_ ," was all Stiles said as he gathered up the articles of clothing and headed for the bathroom.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Stiles huffed as they continued trekking through the heavily wooded area.

"It's just a little further," Alex replied, scrolling through the text messages she'd received from Allison and Lydia. Both girls were concerned about her whereabouts and whether or not she'd seen Stiles because Scott was freaking out, _apparently._

She rolled her eyes and texted them back, telling them that she'd kidnapped Stiles and they were both skipping school that day.

 **Lydia Martin: Ooh, really? Don't do anything I wouldn't do! :)**

 **Alex Hale: So, basically anything, then? ;)**

 **Lydia Martin: …Okay, haha. U got me there. But seriously, just enjoy yourself and don't get** ** _too_** **crazy!**

 **Alex Hale: I will. I'll talk later, Lyds, xo.**

Her phone then beeped and she opened up the text message she'd received from Allison. A smirk crossed her face as she read the message and took note of how worried the Argent girl was.

 **Ally Argent: Are you serious?! Aren't you worried you'll get caught?**

 **Alex Hale: No. Not really. We'll be fine, Ally. Can you pick up any assignments we get for me?**

 **Ally Argent: Yeah, sure. Just be careful, Lex!**

Alex grinned at her best friend's concern before locking the phone and tucking it into her jacket pocket.

"We're going to your house?" Stiles asked curiously as the Hale house came into view.

"Passing through, actually," she corrected and quickened her pace, darting up the porch steps and into the house. Stiles followed hesitantly, wearily gazing around the dilapidated house. A flash of sorrow shot through him, he couldn't even imagine what it must have been like for Alex, Laura and Derek, losing their _entire_ family and in just _one night_. He felt sad at the fact that the three of them had had to grow up too fast. Laura had been forced to take over the role of guardian to her younger siblings and she had only been 20 at the time. Derek, from what Stiles had seen, had been Alex's rock for the past 6 years and he did whatever he could to keep her safe and you could see it, he always kept her behind him, shielding her from any potential threat and he worried about her _a lot._ Some people might even say he worries a little too much, but Stiles could understand it, Alex was the only one he had left, it made sense that he wanted to keep her safe from harm. And Alex acted the same towards Derek, even when she wasn't with him, Stiles could tell that she just wanted to run to him, to make sure he was okay. "Are you coming?" she queried, startling Stiles as she reappeared with a large bag in hand.

Stiles nodded jerkily. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, sure." He followed after her as she led the way through the house and down the back porch. "Where are we going?" he asked as they strolled across the yard towards the woods.

"I wanna show you something… something only my family and I knew about. We used to go to it every weekend and during the holidays," she explained quietly. She ran a hand through her messy hair as she glanced back at him. "You should consider yourself lucky that I'm even taking you there—it's an honour for non-pack to be taken to a place sacred to wolves."

"I _am_ honoured… you don't consider me to be _pack?_ " he questioned, a hint of _hurt_ in his voice.

"Derek's my pack. I don't _need_ nor _want_ any other pack mates," she answered stiffly, trying to ignore her inner wolf's howls of protest at her dishonesty.

"That's not true," Stiles disagreed immediately. Alex's head shot around to face him. "I've seen the way you act around Allison and Lydia, hell, even _Erica._ You sit as close to them as you possibly can, like you depend on their closeness and when they go somewhere without you, you look _absolutely_ miserable until you see them again."

"Okay, fine. I _do_ act like that around them because they _are_ pack. My wolf has claimed and accepted them as pack sisters, even though they're humans," she said in defeat. "It's the same with Jackson and Danny and Scott. They are my pack brothers, even if Scott annoys the crap out of me and I don't know Jackson and Danny that well."

"What about me?" Stiles asked, heart thudding in his chest.

"You… you're different. You're… _special,_ " she confessed before closing herself off once again.

Stiles fell silent as well, his eyes locked securely on the brunette as she increased her speed and continued to guide him through the trees.

* * *

 **(An hour later—10:00am)**

"We're here," Alex announced about an hour later, brushing aside some vines hanging in her way. She stepped forward and held the vines up so Stiles could get through.

' _Wow,_ ' Stiles mouthed as he took in the sparkling lake, bright green grass and the colourful flowers that covered the entire area. There was a wooden swing hanging from a tree branch on the opposite side from where they were standing, an old, frayed rope was tied to the old oak tree next to the lake which he assumed was used as a swing as well to throw people as far as possible into the water. There was also a large selection of cushions lying at the base of the tree where the actual swing was. "This is _amazing._ " He turned just in time to see Alex pull her cardigan off before yanking her tank top off and throwing it down next to her cardigan. " _Whoa!_ What are you _doing?_ "

"Getting undressed," she shot back in a 'duh' tone. "And before you say anything, I'm going for a swim." She quickly unbuttoned her jeans and stepped out of them, revealing her blue boy shorts with little white hearts on them and a plain blue bra. She dropped her shoes and socks into the pile with her clothes before heading over to the tree and climbing up to one of the lower branches.

"Alex, I don't think you should do that," Stiles warned, watching nervously as she moved into a crouch and grabbed the rope that dangled past her shoulder.

"I'll be fine." She waved away his concern, standing up slowly and carefully walking to the end of the branch. Taking a deep breath, she tightened her hold on the rope before jumping from the tree, she swung quickly through the air and let go of the rope, doing a front flip and landing in the lake with a large splash. "Told you," she grinned smugly, coming up for air.

"Yeah, I guess you did," Stiles replied, amused. He waited patiently as she made her way back to him, shaking the water from her hair like a dog. "What's in the bag?"

"I kinda raided the groceries Der brought back from the store and made us a picnic," she told him sheepishly. She led him over to the nest of cushions and sat down, opening the bag to reveal a selection of food and some water bottles. Stiles nodded, eyeing the food hungrily as he sat down beside her and felt her shift around until she got comfy.

"He won't get mad, will he?"

"Probably. Don't worry, I can handle Derek," she assured him upon seeing his worried look. "Now. Dig in and enjoy."

Stiles did as he was told, reaching into the bag and withdrawing two water bottles, handing one to Alex and keeping the other for himself. Alex grinned happily at him, the sun lighting up her hazel green eyes and making them sparkle.

"So, do you like it here?" she asked, watching him as he gazed around the Hales' hang out spot.

"It's incredible," he answered truthfully with a large smile. "Thanks for bringing me here."

"You're actually the _first_ non-Hale that's ever been here," she admitted.

Stiles' smile grew wider, he couldn't help but feel touched, and _honoured,_ at her words as he took her hand in his, squeezing it lightly before letting go. "I'm honoured, really."

Alex turned playful as she caught sight of his smile. "So you should be," she said, right before she tackled him, knocking him side wards. Stiles let out a startled shout as he hit the ground, the water bottle flying from his grip.

"What the hell?" he demanded, staring up at her smirking face.

"You're it," was all she said before she slapped his chest gently and clambered off of him, running towards the trees with a care free laugh. "Come on, Stiles!" she yelled back to him, disappearing from sight.

Stiles chuckled in amusement, jumping to his feet and darting after her. He quite liked this Alex, she was fun and energetic, without a care in the world. " _This_ is what she should be like," Stiles declared under his breath. "She should act like this the whole time."

* * *

 ** _(9 Hours later—7:00pm)_**

 ** _Hale Family Hangout Spot_**

"I'm going for a swim," Alex stated abruptly, breaking the silence between them. After their long game of tag, the two of them had gone exploring and Alex had shown him all of the places her and her siblings would hide in when they played hide and seek and the small hill that overlooked the town that they would sit on during the full moon and told him how they would all take turns howling until the moon faded from sight. Then she had led the way back to the lake so they could finish the picnic.

"Okay," Stiles said, sticking his thumbs up. "Go ahead."

"You're coming with me," she told him sternly. His eyes widened in disbelief and he shook his head frantically, backing away as she approached him slowly. "Look, Stiles, we can do this the _easy way_ or the _hard way_. The easy way being you cooperate or the hard way being I drag you into the lake, _fully clothed._ "

Stiles stared at her wondering if she was bluffing or being completely serious. " _Fine._ I'll go willingly," he said in defeat.

Alex grinned triumphantly as she headed for the lake, tossing her cardigan over her shoulder as she walked. Stiles rolled his eyes, pulling his hoodie, jeans, shoes and socks off but leaving his t-shirt on over his boxers.

"Batman, really?" she chuckled after resurfacing.

"Eh, shut up," he replied, though his words lacked any real heat.

"Hurry up, Stiles!" Alex called, water dripping down her neck and face from her soaking wet hair.

Stiles couldn't help the grin that crossed his face as he charged into the surprisingly warm water and splashed Alex with a large wave. Alex let out a shocked yelp, wiping the water from her eyes and pushing her hair back.

"Woops," he said with an innocent smile as she glared at him.

"Oh, it is _so on!_ " she shouted and tackled him, knocking them both under the water.

Stiles let out a loud laugh as they broke the surface and Alex splashed him again. She joined in with the laughter, pushing him gently as he attempted to dunk her under the water. She leaned against him heavily as she struggled to catch her breath.

"Are you okay?" Stiles asked, grinning down at her. Alex looked up, meeting his whisky coloured eyes with mirth filled hazel ones. Time seemed to slow down as they stared at each other, Alex's heart was thudding loudly within her chest as they slowly moved towards each other. Her eyes fluttered shut the moment his lips touched hers and sparks erupted in every nerve ending in her body. Her hand came up hesitantly and she placed it on his chest, feeling his heart beat under her fingertips as they kissed again.

Alex was the first to break away from the kiss, cheeks flushed deeply and chest heaving from lack of air. Her heart was thudding painfully within her chest and the pure _need_ to let her fangs slip out and let her wolf take control overwhelmed her as she struggled to take a deep breath in. "We should get going," she stated quietly, moving away from him reluctantly. She was having a hard time trying to ignore her inner wolf's urge to move back to him and do something she would _definitely_ regret. She was also finding it difficult to get her eyes to return to their usual hazel colour. "It's getting late, Derek will be worried about me."

"Yeah, sure. Let's go," Stiles whispered, about to reach out and offer her his hand when she jerked away from him abruptly.

"Please, _don't._ I… you shouldn't touch me right now," she warned, golden yellow orbs moving up to meet his gaze. "We _shouldn't_ have kissed. I-I'm having a hard time trying not to come over there and hurt you right now."

"Sorry," he told her quietly, genuinely but continued to keep his distance as they walked out of the lake and onto the shore. Alex shook her hair out in silence before getting dressed a safe distance away from Stiles.

* * *

 ** _An hour later—8:00pm_**

 ** _Hale House_**

"Alexandria Hale!" Derek rumbled, charging down the porch steps. Alex immediately moved her head to the side, baring her neck to the higher ranking wolf. "Where the _hell_ have you been?" he demanded after nipping her neck.

"I was with Stiles all day," she said quietly, glancing nervously between her brother and Stiles.

" _You._ " Derek's head snapped towards Stiles and he glared fiercely at the human male. "What the hell were you thinking, taking her who-knows-where when there's an alpha out there who'll do anything to get a pack? _Even_ forcing Alex and I to submit to his will? There is a reason she checks in every hour to tell me where she is and there is a _reason_ I am doing whatever it takes to keep her _safe_."

"Don't yell at him. It was _my_ idea," Alex growled, anger welling in the pit of her stomach. "I talked him into it."

"Get inside. _Now,_ " Derek said simply, arms folded over his chest.

"I'll see you later," Stiles told her reassuringly. Alex nodded reluctantly, dragging her feet as she headed past Derek and into the house.

"I'll make this perfectly clear," Derek started, still glaring at Stiles. "I want you to _stay away_ from Alex."

Stiles stared up at Derek defiantly. "I _can't_ … I _won't_ do that."

"I don't think you understand, _Stiles,_ " Derek spat his name out like it was poison as he stepped towards the shorter male. " _Leave_ my sister _alone._ I won't tell you again."

"I told you, I can't do that," Stiles repeated. "The only way I'll stay away from her is if she tells me to. _Now,_ if you don't mind, I need to get home."

Stiles turned away and walked off into the trees. He failed to see the smirk that crossed Derek's face as the wolf made his way into the house. He had no idea that the reason for Derek's smirk was because Stiles had passed his first test.


	7. Chapter 6 - Magic Bullet

**_Author's Note - Hey people! I'm sorry it took so long to update but I've been busy with college and I've been having issues with my hands and wrists and I've had a lack of motivation but it's gone now so I'm back! I hope you all like this chapter and let me know what you think of it!_**

 _ **Reviews would be lovely, by the way, but no pressure! :D**_

 _ **Fire and Ash.**_

 _ **(P.S. I've also changed the actress portraying Alex from Adelaide Kane back to Nina Dobrev, but I'm wondering if I should make it that Alex's eyes stay the same colour as Derek's, or should I make them brown like Nina's? Any thoughts?)**_

 ** _xx_**

* * *

 ** _"How terrible it is to love something that death can touch."_**

 ** _\- Anonymous_**

* * *

 ** _January 27_** ** _th_** ** _, 2011_**

 ** _Beacon Hills_**

"Alex! Hurry!" Derek yelled over his shoulder at her. She grumbled in annoyance but increased her pace to keep up with her brother.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" she shouted back.

It was 11pm and Derek had caught the scent of the rogue alpha not that long ago and had shoved Alex out of bed, demanding she 'get her ass up and help him or else', which led to them running through the industrial side of town in the dark.

Alex barely had time to dodge as the alpha suddenly stopped and picked a large dumpster up, throwing it in their direction in an attempt to slow them down. It worked briefly before they managed to catch up with him again.

"Derek!" she shouted, pointing upwards as the alpha lunged at a nearby building, racing up the side and onto the roof.

Her brother nodded once and followed the black beast's path, pausing briefly to wait for Alex before chasing the other wolf again.

Alex stopped halfway across the roof, the sound of a gun being cocked met her ears. She turned her head slowly to the side to see a woman with dark blonde hair standing on the ground below with a shotgun aimed right at her brother. Alex's eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat. She snapped out of her terror and darted forward. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as she closed the distance between her and her brother.

"Derek!" she vaguely heard herself cry in panic. Derek glanced back at her in confusion.

A loud bang tore through the air just as Alex reached her brother, shoving him out of the way—he fell off the roof with a startled growl and hit the ground with a thud.

Alex smiled, relieved, before she felt something tear through her clothes and into her shoulder. A strange numbness filled her and then it was over, replaced by a white-hot pain that burned through her like a forest fire. She cried out, clutching her shoulder as she lost her balance, toppling from the roof. She fell through the air for what seemed like an eternity, and when she hit the ground, the pain increased, radiating throughout her entire being.

"Alex!" Derek shouted, scrambling across the ground towards her. He gathered her up in his arms, holding her against his chest.

"Der, i-it hurts," she whimpered, face screwed up in pain, eyes full of tears.

"It's okay. You're gonna be okay," he said frantically, and Alex wasn't quite sure who he was trying to reassure, himself or her? Her brother pressed his hand down on the wound, stemming the blood flow.

A low growling caught their attention and they both turned to find the alpha approaching them slowly, his red eyes burning with fury. Derek snarled back in response, holding the injured she-wolf closer to him, as if he was trying to hide her from the killer alpha's sight.

"Der, h-he's not trying to hurt us," she told him softly in surprise. Her now glowing yellow-gold eyes met the alpha's brilliant red ones and he stopped beside them, leaning in and sniffing her shoulder. The black wolf jerked back and his chest rumbled as he fought back another growl.

His eyes snapped to Derek's and the beta could practically see the disgust buried deep within the crimson gaze.

"Wolfsbane," Derek whispered. The other wolf lowered his head in the form of a nod before turning in the direction the gunshot had come from. He glanced once more at Alex and then charged, a ground shaking roar filling the open area, followed quickly by the sound of guns firing. "Come on," Derek said, pulling Alex to her feet and backing away as he realized the rogue alpha was giving them a chance to escape.

Alex let out a strangled breath but forced herself to increase her pace to keep up with Derek's long, quick strides.

* * *

 ** _Friday, January 28th_**

 ** _Hale House_**

 ** _(7:00am)_**

Alex let out another moan of pain as she tightened her grip on the arm of the chair. Derek huffed in frustration from behind her, pulling back to look at her face.

"I need you to hold still," Derek told her sternly, bracing his free hand on her back as he continued digging around in the wound for the bullet with his claws.

"It bloody _hurts_ ," she pushed out through gritted teeth, sending a glare at him.

"I know it does, but if I stand a chance of getting the bullet out, you need to hold still."

Alex nodded weakly, her head dropping onto her tense arms and she bit her lip roughly with her fangs, breaking the skin with ease as Derek forced his claws deeper into the wound. Her lip healed almost instantly, though a few drops of blood trickled down her chin.

"What is taking so long?" she snapped after a few minutes of silence.

"I can't get it out, it's in too deep." Derek sounded so panicked, so _desperate_ that Alex's heart clenched painfully and she let out a ragged breath, trying to blink the sudden dizzy spell away. "I need to get another bullet, it's the only way to force it out."

"I suggest you hurry then and come up with a plan because my head is spinning and I feel like I'm gonna throw up," Alex growled out, unable to retract her fangs or make her eyes return to normal.

"Right. Come on, up you get," he ordered helping her up before guiding her to the stairs. Alex went without a fuss, leaning heavily on him as he all but carried her to his room and gently lay her down on the mattress.

"Stop babying me!" she grumbled half-heartedly, though a part of her secretly liked the attention he was showing her.

"I want you to stay right here," Derek told her firmly, tucking the blankets around her.

"Yes sir," she replied drowsily, curling into the pillow covered with his soothing, woodsy scent.

"Get some sleep," Derek whispered, stroking her hair back before disappearing from the room, intent on tracking down the one who had _hurt_ his sister.

* * *

 **Beacon Hills' High School**

 **(30 Minutes later)**

"Hey, Stiles!" Allison called, heading towards the hyper-active male with Lydia in tow.

"A-Allison?" Stiles greeted in surprise. "What's up?"

"Have you seen Alex? We can't find her anywhere."

"No. I haven't seen her since yesterday night." Stiles shrugged, hoisting the strap of his bag higher up onto his shoulder awkwardly.

"Well, has she texted you?" Lydia interrupted as she stepped closer.

"Nope. Haven't heard anything… sorry."

"Let us know if you hear anything?" Allison queried. The bell rang seconds later and Stiles nodded quickly, assuring her he would.

He hurried off in the direction of his next class. He charged into the classroom and raced to his self-assigned seat behind Scott. "Hey," he hissed, knowing his friend could hear him, "have you heard from Alex today?"

"Why would I have heard from her?" Scott asked in confusion.

"Allison and Lydia can't find her and she hasn't texted me."

"She'll be fine, Stiles," Scott replied quietly, listening to the sound of his friend's erratic heartbeat.

"I don't know, man. I just have this feeling that something's wrong," Stiles said, absentmindedly holding a hand to his chest, unaware that Alex was doing the exact same thing.

* * *

A series of painful coughs racked through Alex's body, jerking her from her light sleep and she shot up, grasping at her chest as she fought to breathe through the fit.

The moment the coughing fit ended, a wave of nausea hit and she tumbled off the bed, throwing up a mouthful of pitch black blood. Tears sprung to her eyes as she gagged at the rancid taste and the burn in the back of her throat.

"D-Der!" she called out weakly before remembering he wasn't there anymore. She wiped the blood from her lips and staggered to her feet, heading for the doorway.

Alex headed down the stairs, stopping briefly in the living room to pull one of Derek's long sleeved, turtle necks on and grab her cell phone from the table. She had no idea where she was going, but she knew she had to get out of the house before she suffocated.

Her head was spinning and the light burned her eyes as she stumbled into the woods beside the house. The cold breeze felt refreshing against her overheated skin as she charged through the trees, occasionally tripping over tree limbs and loose twigs.

"Alex!" a voice yelled, gaining her immediate attention. She followed the sound of the voice—which surprisingly led her to the Hales' meadow.

A tall figure with long, curly blonde hair stood in the middle of the meadow, staring at her with cold, light blue eyes.

"A-Aunt Kris?" she gasped, eyes widening at the sight of her deceased aunt.

"Hey little Lexi," Kris greeted calmly.

"How are you here?"

Kris snorted as she sauntered over to her niece. "I'm not really here," she explained, "it's all in your head."

"The bullet?" Kris nodded and patted Alex roughly on the head. "The wolfsbane is messing with my mind."

"That's right, darling," Peter—the Peter she knew from before the fire—agreed, appearing from the trees.

"Uncle Peter?" She darted over to him, wrapping her arms around him. "I'm so sorry for what happened to you," she whimpered, clinging to him tightly.

"You should be." Peter's chest rumbled angrily and he pushed her to the ground, staring at her with glowing blue eyes.

"P-Peter?"

"You knew about Derek and Kate. You could've told someone and saved us all!"

"I-I didn't mean for it to happen. I didn't know," she said, begging them to understand.

"But you did, didn't you?" Alex's mom and dad appeared behind Peter, followed quickly by the rest of her family.

"Derek knew something was wrong but you didn't listen and now I'm dead!" Laura snarled, her eyes turning blood red.

"Laurie, I'm so sorry," Alex sobbed, covering her face with her hands.

"Sorry? You're _sorry_?" Laura yelled, grabbing Alex by her neck and lifting her into the air. "Sorry doesn't change _anything._ _Sorry_ doesn't bring us back!" She then threw Alex across the meadow and the younger wolf hit a large tree with a sickening crunch.

The pain seemed to snap Alex out of her wolfsbane-induced hallucinations, but it didn't stop the guilt and grief that washed over her, drowning her. She curled into a ball, sobbing and howling until she passed out from exhaustion.

* * *

Derek ran a weary hand through his hair, a sigh of agitation escaping as he continued stalking through the woods towards his old house. He had had no luck tracking down the one who had shot Alex, so he was on his way back to check on his sister before going after Scott and Stiles and enlisting their help. He hurried up the porch steps and into the ruined house.

"Alex?" Derek called, frowning when he didn't receive a response. "Alex!" He raced for the stairs, taking them two at a time until he reached the top and immediately followed the scent of blood that filled his nose. His room was an absolute mess. The mattress had four, long claw marks down it, the blankets were completely shredded and there was a large puddle of slowly drying black blood on the floor near the mattress. "Alexandria!"

His sister's scent had faded slightly, letting him know she'd been gone a long time. He darted out of the room and back down the stairs, heading for the door. He tugged his phone out as he went, scrolling through it until he found Scott's number.

The younger beta answered after three rings with an irritated tone of voice. "How did you get this number?"

"It doesn't matter!" Derek barked angrily. "I need your help!"

"Why would I help you, huh? You've done nothing but-"

"Alex is missing!" Derek interrupted roughly, his impatience rising to a whole new level.

"Well… she's probably just out doing… wolfy stuff," Scott excused pathetically.

"You're not listening to me—Alex was _shot_ and now she's missing. I need your help to find her. Before someone gets hurt."

"O-okay, meet me at the school. It's almost home time," Scott told him, finally hearing the desperation in Derek's voice.

"Get that idiot friend of yours as well. We need all the help we can get," Derek ordered before he hung up. He exhaled sharply before throwing his head back and letting out a loud, long howl.

He only prayed that Alex had heard him, wherever she was.

* * *

When Alex finally woke up, it was to the sound of a loud howl filling the air. Instinct almost had her howling back in response but she quickly smothered the need to do so as she forced herself into a sitting position against the tree behind her.

Trailing her eyes around the meadow, she made sure to look for any possible threats, when she found none, she sighed in relief and closed her eyes briefly. She turned her attention to the wound on her shoulder. The skin was red and puffy, it leaked pus and blackened blood and small wisps of bright blue smoke drifted from it. The veins trailing towards her heart were slightly raised and pitch black in colour, standing out against her pale skin. Her shoulder pulsated with pain as she moved to get her phone out of her pocket.

Alex hesitated before going through her contacts until she found Stiles' name and pressed dial. It rang for a few seconds before he finally picked up.

"Alex? Where the hell are you? Derek's freaking out right now!"

"Hey Stiles," she greeted weakly, chest burning as a series of coughs racked through her.

"Alex? Are you okay?"

"I'm dying, Stiles. I can feel it," she told him honestly. She knew it was happening—she could feel it and it _hurt._ Her entire body felt as though it was on fire and she wondered if her family had felt this way in their last few minutes. "It hurts, Stiles," she whimpered, blinking back tears of frustration.

"No no no, you are not dying, d'you hear me?" Stiles shouted frantically and Alex vaguely heard footsteps in the background on Stiles' end on the call.

"It's okay, Stiles," Alex whispered, her fingers curling around her phone. "I just wanted to say goodbye and tell you how much you mean to me. You're the best friend I've ever had. You've always been there for me and I am so grateful that I got to know you."

"Alex, you're my best friend too," Stiles assured her before shushing someone in the background. "Alex, tell me where you are."

"It's so beautiful here," was all she said in reply, "I know it's supposed to be the 'Hale Family Spot' but I think I'd like it if it was our spot too. The Stilinski-Hale spot."

"Just stay where you are. We're coming to get you, Alex," Stiles promised, his heart thudded wildly as he hung up.

Alex locked her phone, slipping it back into her pocket as she leaned against the tree and closed her eyes.

* * *

The ride to the meadow was long and very slow to Derek and the moment the car stopped, he threw the door open and jumped out, charging around the car and into the woods. Stiles left the keys in the ignition as he scrambled out of the driver's seat and took off after the wolf.

"Alex!" Derek yelled, throwing himself down beside his baby sister. Alex was lying on her back, completely motionless with her hair spread out around her head like a halo.

"Oh God. Derek, is… is she—?" Stiles cut himself off abruptly, not wanting to even say the words.

"S-she's got a pulse but it's weak," Derek replied in a relieved tone. Stiles exhaled deeply, scrubbing a hand over his buzz cut.

"I'll call Scott—hopefully he has the bullet," Stiles said quietly as Derek picked Alex up bridal style.

"Hurry up!" Derek called over his shoulder as he carried his sister in the direction of Stiles' jeep.

"Come on, come on," Stiles muttered as he waited for Scott to pick up the phone.

"Stiles? Did you find her? Did you find Alex?"

"We found her but she's not doing so well," Stiles sighed heavily. "Please tell me you found the bullet."

"I need some more time," Scott admitted reluctantly. Stiles' heart skipped a beat at his other best friend's words. "This house is massive and they have tons of guns and bullets."

"Please hurry, Scott," Stiles asked, feeling desperation well in the pit of his stomach—he had no _idea_ how serious Alex's condition was, or if she'd even make it through the next hour.

"I will, Stiles. Just stay at the Hale house, I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Okay, see ya soon." Stiles hung up and began the trek back to the Hale house.

"What did Scott say?" Derek demanded by way of greeting as soon as Stiles made it back to the house.

"He needs a little more time. They have a lot of bullets apparently," Stiles explained wearily.

"We don't have time. Alex is _dying._ "

"He's going as fast as he can."

"It's not fast enough," Derek growled and stalked into the house.

* * *

"D-Derek?" Alex rasped, throat dry as her eyes fluttered open slowly, blinking rapidly to adjust to the brightness of the large lamp on the floor.

"I'm right here." Derek immediately appeared within her line of sight and she smiled weakly at him.

"I love you, Der," she whispered tiredly. She felt her brother stiffen instantly at her words. "I'm sorry."

"No. Don't you _dare_ say sorry. You are not going anywhere, understand?"

"I don't think you can stop it," Alex said right before she rolled onto her side and threw up more black blood.

"W-what the hell is that?" Stiles gasped, trying not to gag in disgust.

"Her body's trying to heal itself," Derek replied as he rubbed Alex's back gently, encouraging her to let it all out.

When Alex was sure she wasn't going to be sick again, she flopped backwards on the couch and allowed Derek to wipe the blood from her face. "Stiles?" She stared up at her friend curiously, wondering when he had arrived. "What are you doing here?"

"I wasn't gonna leave you alone," he told her softly as Derek rose to his feet, signalling that he was gonna give them a minute.

"Thank you," Alex smiled. Stiles returned it as he picked up a nearby cloth and set it on her forehead, watching her sigh happily as the cold material cooled her burning face.

"You had us worried today," he started with a small, disapproving frown, "we thought we wouldn't get to you in time."

"But you did… so tell me, did my brother find a way to save me within the next 10 minutes?"

"Scott's at Allison's right now looking for the bullet."

Alex smiled bitterly, tugging the blanket around her tightly as she began to shiver when a cool breeze drifted over them. Stiles immediately moved to help, throwing aside the now warm cloth in favour of tucking the ends of the blanket around her feet and legs.

"We both know he's not gonna make it," she said softly, as if attempting to make sure Derek wouldn't hear her, though he clearly did, if the pitiful growl he let out was anything to go by.

"Stop talking like that—you're gonna be _fine_ ," Stiles snapped, glaring at her.

"Stiles," Alex began, moving the blanket aside so she could shift the strap of her tank top out of the way to show him her wound. She trailed the black veins crawling towards her heart with a shaking finger, "the moment the black reaches my heart, I'm not gonna survive, and nothing you say can change that."

"Scott _will_ make it," he said, though it sounded as though he was trying to convince himself instead of her.

Alex sighed, her inner wolf whining at Stiles' distress. She pulled the blanket back over her before reaching out and taking his hand. A frown crossed her face as she felt the emotional pain coursing through him. "You're hurting," she whispered, and couldn't for the life of her understand _why._

"Of course I'm hurting. My best girl friend is convinced she's dying and I can't convince her otherwise."

Alex smiled sadly at his bitter statement and then she gripped his hand tighter and began drawing the pain from him, watching as the veins in her arms turned black. The sensation of his pain added onto hers and the black veins stretching across her skin grew darker as she grew paler. Then the same burning pain from when she got shot consumed her and she let out a whimper.

"Alex? What are you doing?" Stiles asked, panicked. Alex's reply came in the form of a strangled gasp that had Stiles struggling to pull away as he yelled for Derek's help. The older male burst into the room, going straight for Alex, yanking her fingers open and giving Stiles the opportunity to free himself.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Derek snarled, eyes flashing and fangs showing. Stiles took an involuntary step backwards, putting some distance between himself and the two wolves.

"My Stiles was hurting," Alex slurred out, her face shining with sweat. She no longer had a bright gleam in her eyes and her eyelids kept slipping shut on her. "I… I don't like it when my Stiles hurts."

Silence filled the room at her words and Derek pinched his nose, trying desperately to keep his temper at bay. Alex's stomach turned and her eyes snapped open. Derek was right by her side, the waste bucket from the kitchen clutched tightly in his hands—he held it steady as even more black blood left Alex's system.

"You need to get Scott here, _now,_ " Derek ordered, glancing back at Stiles. The human left the room with his phone clutched tightly in his hands.

"Hey, Der?" Alex asked weakly, slumping against the couch cushions as she fought to keep her eyes open. Derek knelt beside her head, clutching her hand tightly.

"What is it?"

"D'you think it'll hurt?" she mumbled. "Dying, I mean."

"That's not something you'll have to worry about because you are not gonna leave me." Derek gripped her hand tightly, as if he could make her stay alive by just hold onto her.

Alex simply smiled as though his words amused her somehow. "I wonder if I'll see them again. I miss them."

Before Derek could answer, Stiles came tumbling into the room, waving his phone around and grinning manically at the two wolves.

"H-he did it. He got the bullet. He's on his way here now."

"Alex, I'm gonna wait outside for Scott," Derek explained as he stood up. She nodded and closed her eyes as her brother turned to Stiles. "Watch her."

"I will," Stiles promised as he took up vigil beside Alex, reaching out and enveloping her ice cold hand between his warm ones. Derek hesitated before nodding stiffly and exiting the room.

* * *

Alex drifted in and out of consciousness, her body felt surprisingly light compared to the heavy feeling of her mind. She could vaguely hear people in the background as she struggled to break through the darkness surrounding her.

Just when she was about to give up and continue floating in the darkness, a single voice caught her attention, calling out to her desperately.

" _Alex!_ " the voice yelled frantically and a strange pressure surrounded her. " _Please… come back!_ "

Alex frowned deeply. She didn't know who the person was, but she _did not_ like the pain in their voice. The pressure increased on her to the point where she wanted to flinch and free herself, but was unable to do so.

" _No! Don't you dare die on me!_ " the voice cried desperately and then she felt herself being dragged onto a cold, hard surface and a weight settled on her chest.

" _Alexandria Hale!_ " Another voice joined in and she recognized it immediately as Derek. She wanted to call out to him, to let him know she could hear him and that she was trying but she couldn't figure out how to answer him.

And then a searing pain spread throughout her body and mind and she was roughly dragged from the darkness and out into a blinding white space.

* * *

Alex snapped back to life with a roar of pain that had the three males jumping back in shock. She slumped backwards onto the floor in exhaustion, unable to keep her head up or her eyes open.

"Alex?" Stiles asked hesitantly. The she-wolf's eyes fluttered open moments later to reveal disorientated yellow-gold eyes. She stared up at him with the utmost intensity, her eyes brightening the longer she looked at him. "Thank God," he breathed, head dropping to rest on her uninjured shoulder.

"Alex, we have the bullet—we can heal you," Derek drew her firm attention away from Stiles and she blinked over at him, conveying with her eyes that she understood and wanted him to get a move on. Derek nodded and turned to Stiles and Scott. "I need you to hold her down."

The two teenagers nodded and moved into position, Scott holding her legs down and Stiles sitting with his back to the couch and Alex between his legs, leaning heavily on his chest. The three of them watched as Derek bit the end off of the bullet and emptied the contents onto his hand before brushing the wolfsbane onto the table and taking out a lighter. He flicked it open and lit the wolfsbane on fire—they all shielded their eyes as it sparked and burned a bright blue before fading.

"You need to hold her and don't let go," Derek ordered. Stiles swallowed nervously at the seriousness on Derek's face. Scott tightened his grip on the female wolf's legs and Stiles followed suit, holding her to him in a tight grip. Derek scooped the smoking wolfsbane up and moved towards Alex, trying to ignore the way she squirmed in an attempt to get away from him—he knew it was the wolfsbane that was eliciting such a reaction from her.

Derek took a deep breath in before coating his fingers in the powder and sticking them roughly into the bullet wound. Alex roared in agony, back arching as the wound started burning. Derek winced at his pack-sister's pain but forced himself to continue. Alex's eyes kept flickering between chocolate brown and yellow-gold as the wolfsbane worked its magic, forcing the poison from her veins and the bullet from her shoulder. She grabbed Stiles hands tightly and refused to let go, holding onto him with all her might as her inner wolf growled and struggled, rolling around in an attempt to escape the pain.

Stiles and Scott watched in amazement as the end of the bullet came into view and Derek immediately latched onto it with his claws, yanking it free as Alex whined at the pain, huddled back into Stiles. She collapsed back against him the moment the bullet was gone, her hair plastered to her face and neck. A weak sigh escaped as she nuzzled into her human friend, burying her face in his chest.

"Stay with her?" Derek asked Stiles, standing up and throwing the bullet into the waste bucket. "I have something Scott needs to see."

"Yeah, sure," Stiles agreed and Alex's body rumbled happily against his chest. He was pretty sure the she-wolf wasn't gonna be moving any time soon. The two male wolves left the house as Stiles slumped back against the couch. "Alex, don't you ever, _ever_ do that again."

Alex's lips twitched sleepily, brushing against his jawline and causing him to swallow reflexively. She opened her eyes briefly to meet his gaze, the yellow-gold giving way to her normal colour.

"I'll try not to, Batman," she whispered before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep in his surprisingly warm arms.


	8. Chapter 7 - The Tell

**Author's note - I am so sorry it's taken me so long to update, but things have been hectic with college and personal issues, but it's here now! So please read, enjoy and let me know what you think!**

 **I can also assure you all that I'm definitely _not_ dropping this fic. I absolutely love it and want to continue writing more Derek/Alex scenes and Alex/Stiles scenes! :D**

* * *

 **Saturday, 29** **th** **January, 2011**

 **Beacon Hills, California**

The next night, Alex was almost back to her old self—though her shoulder still ached—and her and Derek had gone after the Alpha, with a little help from an unwilling Scott.

She'd decided to split from the other two wolves—much to Derek's distress—and track the alpha by herself, which led her to the video store where the Alpha's scent was at its strongest. She was completely surprised—and worried—to find a _very_ familiar car parked outside of the store. Alex knew there was no way she could get into the store without Lydia seeing her, so she strolled over to the car and tapped on Lydia's window.

"What the hell—? _Alex?_ " Lydia yelled in fright as she opened the window and slapped the brunette's arm.

"Sorry for scaring you," Alex said apologetically.

"What are you doing here? Why weren't you at school yesterday?"

"Oh, uh, my brother and I were gonna watch a movie on my laptop, so I just came here to find one," Alex explained, lying through her teeth. "And I wasn't at school yesterday because I was ill… food poisoning… my brother's a terrible cook. Is Jackson with you?"

Lydia nodded as she applied more lip gloss to her lips. "Yeah, he's inside."

Alex's eyes widened in concern and she quickly took a step back from the car. "I should get going," she said with a tight smile. "Can't keep Der waiting."

"Okay. See ya at school on Monday?" Alex nodded in confirmation as she started walking towards the store. She waved at Lydia once before disappearing inside.

* * *

"Hey Jackson," Alex said in the sandy blonde's ear, causing him to jump in surprise.

"Alex," Jackson sighed in relief. "What the hell are you playing at?"

"I thought it was funny," she replied, shrugging her shoulders playfully. She looked around curiously, taking in the flickering light hanging from the ceiling and the lack of staff. "Where's the guy who works here?"

"Wish I knew," Jackson said, irritated. "I've been calling for help for five minutes now."

Alex walked past Jackson, heading further into the store… and then she noticed the pair of legs sticking out from behind a shelf. She approached the shelf slowly, paying little attention to Jackson as the tall male followed her. "Oh my God," Alex gasped, feeling sick to her stomach. Her hand flew to her mouth as she caught sight of the store clerk's torn open throat.

"Al-Alex. Don't look," Jackson whispered, gently turning her head away and pressing her face to his chest. Alex curled her fingers around his leather jacket, clinging to him as he quickly pulled her away from the body. The two of them crashed into the ladder behind them, knocking it and the hanging light down.

"We need to get out of here," Alex said, still holding onto Jackson's jacket. They turned towards the door, only to find it blocked by the alpha—his hunched over form was barely visible in the flickering lights and the only thing they could see properly was his glowing red eyes. "Get down!" Alex pushed Jackson behind a nearby shelf and quickly dove after him, dropping to her knees beside Jackson.

"What the hell was that?" Jackson demanded fearfully.

"I don't know," she lied, peeking out of the aisle they were hiding in to see the alpha duck behind the shelves nearest the door. Alex was abruptly pulled back by Jackson. "Jack, is there another way out?"

"Uh, that door over there leads through the store room to an alley out back that takes you round the store to the parking lot."

"Okay, you need to go through it and get help," Alex ordered. Jackson sent her a look that suggested he thought she was crazy.

"I'm not leaving you along with that thing!" he argued.

"Jackson you are the fastest out of the two of us," Alex growled, bending the truth slightly, "and Lydia's out there _on her own_ —she doesn't know we're trapped in here with that animal. What if she comes in here?"

Jackson's eyes widened and he nodded jerkily. "Okay, fine. But you need to hide."

"I will," she assured him quickly before peeking out from behind the shelf again. "The coast is clear, go, _now._ "

Jackson slowly got to his feet, creeping towards the door. He made it halfway there before the alpha made a reappearance, glaring fiercely at him. Jackson swallowed hard and took a step back.

"Jackson, run!" Alex ordered. He quickly turned on his heel, darting the last few steps and disappearing through the door.

Alex stayed hidden behind the shelf, trying to come up with a plan to distract the alpha and get herself out of there alive. A warning growl filled the air and then the shelves were falling like dominos, Alex moved a little too late and found herself pinned from the waist down by two shelves.

"Crap," she moaned out in pain. Her legs and feet felt completely numb, and she was almost certain that she cracked a rib or two on the way down. The sound of heavy breathing reached her ears and she slowly turned her head to look over her shoulder. The alpha was crawling onto the shelves on top of her, his large form adding more weight to the objects on top of her and she cried out at the pressure pushing down on her spine. She immediately struggled, desperately trying to free herself.

A growl left the alpha's mouth and Alex froze, her body tensing as he closed in on her. The alpha's nose brushed against her previously wounded shoulder. A whimper escaped Alex's lips as the alpha slowly opened his mouth to reveal razor sharp fangs.

The alpha's jaws clamped down on her shoulder roughly and she let out a shriek of pain, her nails clawing at the ground as she tried to pull herself away from the alpha. He eventually released her and jumped down from the shelves, lowering his head to meet her gaze with his burning red eyes. Alex stared into the endless crimson orbs and found herself thinking that the look he was giving her was familiar for some reason.

The alpha turned tail and ran, bursting through the window at the front of the store and into the parking lot.

The last thing Alex heard before she passed out was the sounds of Jackson and Lydia's shouts and screams of terror and panic.

* * *

The next thing Alex knew, she was waking up to bright, flashing lights and the panicked cries of Lydia.

"Mmm, Lyds?" she croaked, closing her eyes briefly against the blinding light.

"Alex!" Lydia cried, falling to her knees beside her best friend. "A-Alex, you need to stay still, okay? The EMT's are gonna help you."

"I… I can't feel my legs," she mumbled in response, opening her eyes and meeting Lydia's worried gaze. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Lydia assured her, taking her bloodied hand and squeezing gently.

"Right, we need to get her out of here," the female EMT said, gaining a nod of agreement from her co-worker.

Lydia stepped back and the two EMT's carefully lifted Alex up onto the gurney beside them. Alex attempted to move her head but found herself unable to move due to the fact her head had been strapped into a padded red piece of equipment. Her eyes immediately filled with terror.

"It's all right," the female EMT reassured her gently. "We had to keep your head still in case you have spinal injuries."

"L-Lydia?" Alex whispered, stretching out blindly for the strawberry blonde. Lydia quickly took her hand again.

"It's okay, they're taking you to the hospital."

"N-no. I wanna go home. I want Derek," Alex whimpered, tears filling her eyes. She didn't want to go to the hospital, she wanted her brother.

"Alex, you need to stay calm," the woman told her gently, stroking the teenager's hair. Alex bit her lip roughly in response.

"I want Derek! Where's my brother?" she demanded, trying to look around for her brother. She found Lydia instead. "Lydia, I want Derek. _Please._ "

"I'll call him from the hospital," Lydia promised, following as they wheeled Alex from the store and into the parking lot. The strawberry blonde didn't really have much of a choice, as Alex had yet to release her vice tight grip on Lydia's hand.

"My phone's in my pocket," Alex told her quietly. Lydia nodded in understanding.

"Alex?" a familiar voice yelled and Alex soon found herself staring up into Stiles' worried face.

"Stiles," she said, feeling herself calm down slightly. "I… can you come with me as well?"

Stiles glanced back at his dad, who nodded in understanding and gestured for him to go ahead. Stiles smiled thankfully before climbing into the ambulance after Alex had been lifted into it. He then turned around and offered a hand to Lydia, helping her climb up into the ambulance as well.

* * *

 **Beacon Hills' Memorial Hospital**

 **Beacon Hills**

"Stiles?" Derek called as he burst through the doors into the waiting room.

"Alex is fine," Stiles said before Derek could say another word. "They were worried she might have spinal injuries but thankfully she doesn't. She did have to get stitches in her shoulder though… and her legs are quite bruised from the shelf falling on her. Two of her ribs are broken. It's a good thing you got here when you did, by the way, Alex and the Doctor have been arguing none stop—Alex wanted to leave as soon the stitches were done and her ribs bound, but the Doctor's adamant that she's not allowed to leave until you discharge her."

"Where is she?"

"Down the hall, first door on the left," Stiles replied and stood up, following the wolf towards Alex's room.

"Derek, finally!" Alex grumbled the moment her brother walked through the door. She was still wearing her bloody clothes and her bruised legs were propped up on a mound of pillows. "Sign me out so I can leave this hell hole."

Derek rolled his eyes but left the room to do as she'd said, leaving Stiles standing there awkwardly in the middle of the room.

"You had me worried, _again,_ " Stiles told her quietly. Alex shrugged her shoulder apologetically. "If I have to tell you not to do something so stupid again, I'm gonna put you in the dog house."

"Dog jokes? Really?" she snorted, unamused. Stiles just flashed her a smile and he walked forward hugging her tightly before he knew what he was doing.

Alex returned the hug slowly, wrapping her arms around him and holding on with all her might. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Stiles nodded against her neck.

"Al, it's time to go," Derek said from the doorway and Alex smiled as she released Stiles and the human pulled away.

"I'll see you at school on Monday," Stiles whispered as he left the room. Alex waved at him with a wide grin as her brother carefully picked her up so he could carry her outside to the Camaro.

* * *

 **Monday, 31** **st** **January, 2011**

 **Beacon Hills' High School**

On Monday morning, Alex slowly climbed out of the car with her brother's help. Her legs were still slightly bruised, so walking was rather difficult and painful. She reluctantly allowed Derek to help her hobble into the school and towards her first class of the day; Chemistry.

"This is so humiliating," Alex whispered, leaning into her brother as she tried to ignore the looks she was getting.

"It's only until your legs heal up," Derek replied, offering her some comfort. The two siblings finally made it to the Chemistry classroom where Mr Harris greeted Alex politely.

"Alex, if you need to leave during the lesson to take a break, just let me know."

"Uh, yes, thank you Mr Harris," she replied in surprise. The Chemistry teacher nodded before turning to Derek.

"You must be Alex's brother. I hope you are coming to the Parent—Teacher Conference tonight."

"Absolutely. Wouldn't miss it," Derek said, mock enthusiastically, and thankfully, Alex was the only one who caught the sass in his voice. The older wolf helped Alex sit down before he headed for the door. "I'll pick you up after school."

"Bye Der," she called back as the other students slowly began to pour in.

* * *

"Are you all right?" Jackson asked suddenly, gaining Alex's attention. "I heard from Lydia that you got pretty torn up."

"I'm fine, don't worry," she replied. The two of them had left their History class early and decided to go and sit on the bleachers so they could have some privacy. She was also out there so she could enjoy the sunshine and the fresh air.

"I, uh… I just wanted to thank you," Jackson said awkwardly. "For saving me."

"Think nothing of it. I would do it again in a heartbeat."

"…Why?" he asked with a frown. Alex peered up at him curiously.

"Because you're my friend," she reached out and took his hand, "and friends look out for each other."

"Thank you," Jackson whispered. He gripped her hand tightly.

Alex nodded in understanding and allowed him to keep holding her hand as she leaned against him slightly, trying to offer up whatever comfort she could give him.

* * *

When school finally ended, Alex was only too glad to leave the prison-like building. She quickly made her way outside, saying goodbye to Jackson and Danny as she hightailed her way across the parking lot to Derek's car. She was also glad that her bruises had healed so she could walk properly now.

"Hey Der," she said with a smile, throwing her bag into the backseat.

"How was school?"

"Boring, long, the usual," she explained, her smile growing. She fastened her seat belt and settled in for the long drive.

Derek nodded in response, starting the car and speeding out of the lot, heading back in the direction of their home.

* * *

A few hours later, they were back at the house and Alex was sitting on the couch, working away at an Algebra assignment as Derek worked out.

"You know, I'm curious about something," Alex said randomly, gaining her brother's attention as he used the top of the doorframe to lift himself up and down to build up the muscles in his arms. "Why did the alpha help us when I got shot but tried to kill me in the Video store?"

"I don't know, Alex. Why don't you go and ask him?" Derek replied as he let go of the doorframe and started doing push-ups instead.

"Funny," she grumbled, sticking her tongue out. "You're absolutely hilarious."

Derek smirked at her, though the amusement quickly dissipated as the sounds of footsteps and rifles being cocked met their ears. Alex sent a panicked look at Derek and he quickly rushed over to her, pulling her up and dragged her up the stairs. The two siblings were completely silent, listening as the door was kicked in and the three hunters spoke loudly between themselves in the foyer.

"Maybe he's out, burying a bone in the back yard?" one of them suggested and Derek had to cover Alex's mouth as she laughed quietly at the pathetic joke.

"Really? A dog joke?" a familiar voice asked and the Hale siblings exchanged tense looks when they realized it was Kate Argent. "We're going there and that's the best you've got?" The Argent woman sounded highly disappointed with her hunter friend. "If you wanna provoke him, say something like 'Too bad your sister _bit it_ before she had her first litter. Too bad she _howled_ like a _bitch when_ we _cut her in half!_ "

Alex let out a furious growl in tandem with her brother and she could feel the rage consume her as she exploded into her wolf form and her clothes were instantly destroyed. She made it out of the room before Derek and she stopped at the top of the stairs, her muzzle pulled back over her sharp teeth.

"Y-you never said he could turn into an _actual wolf,_ " the youngest hunter stuttered nervously, eyeing the large, snarling wolf with wide eyes.

"That's because he can't. Only the alpha females from the Hale family could," Kate explained, staring at Alex, intrigued. "And all the alpha females are _dead_ which means this is Alex—the only other female wolf besides Laura to escape the fire. Isn't that right, _Alex?_ "

Alex roared angrily and charged down the stairs, knocking the youngest hunter out by throwing him against the wall. Derek took care of the older male hunter and then it was just the two of them against Kate.

The Hale's lunged at the same time as Kate swung out with her weapon. Alex shifted back to her human form as bolts of electricity raced through her—she gasped out in agony, curling into a tight ball as if to ward off the pain.

"Wow," Kate said appreciatively, staring down at Derek. "This one grew up in all the right places."

Alex slowly dragged herself to the other side of the room where a pile of her clothes lay. She tugged on her underwear and a knee length skirt and tank top as the huntress was distracted by Derek.

"I don't know whether to kill it or lick it," Kate continued, following Derek as he pulled himself towards the wall and away from Alex so Kate wouldn't go after her.

His plan failed and Kate looked back over her shoulder at Alex and changed her path, heading over to the she-wolf and crouching in front of her.

"My, my, you certainly grew up pretty, Little Al."

"Screw you, bitch," Alex said before crying out in agony as Kate zapped her again.

"Alex!" Derek called out weakly. "Leave her alone!"

Kate went back over to Derek and zapped him the moment he tried to rise up and swing at her. Derek rolled across the floor towards a pale Alex, his body shaking from shock and pain.

"Oh, 900,000 volts," Kate started, chuckling as she held the baton up and blue pulses raced up and down it. "You never were good with electricity, were you? Or fire… which is why I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. And, well, maybe we can help each other out." She sat down in front of the siblings. "Yes, your sister was severed into pieces and used as bait to try and catch you two. Unpleasant, and frankly, a little too _Texas Chainsaw Massacre_ for my taste, but quite true," she chuckled briefly at the pained looks on Alex and Derek's faces. "Now, here's the part that might really kick you in your balls—we didn't kill her."

"Yo-you're lying," Alex whispered weakly as she walked over on shaky legs and fell to her knees beside Derek and rested her head against his.

"Oh really, you think I'm lying?" Kate queried, mock polite.

"Wouldn't be the first time," Derek hissed at her.

"Sweetie, why don't you listen to my heart and tell me if I'm lying?" Kate said, leaning closer to them. "We… _didn't…_ kill… Laura. You hear that? There's no blips, no upticks. Just the steady beat of the cold, hard truth."

Alex buried her face in Derek's hair, tears welling in her eyes as they clung to each other. The she-wolf knew Kate wasn't lying, because she was right, her heart hadn't jumped or skipped a beat as she spoke.

The huntress stood up and stared at them coldly. "Found bite marks on your sister's body, Derek, Alex. What do you think did that, hmm? A mountain lion? Why don't we help each other out? Because you two might as well admit what you've been guessing all along, which is the _Alpha_ killed your sister. He's also the one who tore up baby-wolf over there. All you have to do is tell me who he is and we'll take care of it for you. Problem solved, everybody goes home happy," Kate paused, staring down at them thoughtfully. "Unless you don't know who it is either… hmm, guess who just became _totally_ useless."

Derek grabbed Alex's arm the moment Kate turned her back on them. He pulled his sister up and out of the house as they tried to avoid the hailstorm of bullets that erupted from Kate's firearm. Alex ran after her brother, trying desperately to keep up with his fast sprint as they raced into the woods beside the old house.

"D-Derek," Alex gasped, bracing her hands on her knees when they stopped. "What are we gonna do?"

"I… don't know," Derek said quietly, reluctantly. Alex looked up at him, concern and fear welling inside of her.

* * *

 **Beacon Hills High School**

 **(7:30pm)**

Alex sighed softly, drumming her fingers against her knees as she sat outside her history classroom. Derek had been in there with her teacher for almost 20 minutes and she was _beyond_ bored. At least it was the last teacher Derek had to see before they could leave again and go back home.

"Alexandria."

"It's just Alex," she called back before looking up to find Allison's parents standing in front of her. "What do _you_ want?"

"You should mind your manners, _wolf_ ," Victoria snapped. Alex's eyes flickered between yellow-gold and brown in warning.

"Normally I would," Alex started, sugar sweet, but the Argents could sense the hidden anger in her voice. "But I'm not feeling too social after your psychotic sister tried to turn my brother and I into werewolf-toast with 900,000 volts."

"What?" Chris asked flatly.

"Y'know, it's funny, I thought we had a semi-truce going on, what with me protecting your daughter from the alpha and all that, but it sure didn't feel that way when Kate barged into our home, provoked us and then electrocuted Derek and I."

"I'll be sure to have words with her tonight," Chris assured her, clenching his jaw.

"That's good to know," Alex started, standing up and meeting his gaze head on. "Because if Kate goes after _anyone_ else that I care about, it won't be the alpha you have to worry about because _I will_ take her down and I'll make her suffer like she made my family suffer. And I might even have to reconsider my promise to look out for Allison, because Derek comes first," she said softly, knowing it would get a reaction from the Argent. She didn't mean it of course, she would continue to look after Allison but she _would_ choose Derek if it came down to it.

Alex's cold words had shivers creeping up Chris' spine and he watched as Derek appeared from inside the history classroom, pulling his sister away from the hunters and down the hall towards the exit.

The she-wolf sent one, final glance back at Chris, warning him with her eyes that she was completely serious.

Kate Argent wouldn't live through another night if she went after them again.


End file.
